Selective Oxidation of Sulfides to Sulfoxides Using 30% Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyzed with a Recoverable Silica-Based Tungstate Interphase Catalyst

Various types of aromatic and aliphatic sulfides are selectively oxidized to sulfoxides and sulfones in good to excellent yields using 30% H2O2 in the presence of catalytic amounts of a novel recoverable silica-based tungstate interphase catalyst at room temperature. The catalyst can be recovered and reused for at least eight reaction cycles under the described reaction conditions without considerable loss of reactivity. [reaction: see text]