Synthesis and characterization of oxo-vanadium complex anchored onto SBA-15 as a green, novel and reusable nanocatalyst for the oxidation of sulfides and oxidative coupling of thiols

Abstract

The present work describes the synthesis of a new oxo-vanadium complex immobilized on SBA-15 nanostructure as an efficient catalyst for oxidation of sulfides and oxidative coupling of thiols. Characterization of the resultant AMPD@SBA-15 nanostructure was performed by various physico-chemical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopies, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis, and N2 adsorption and desorption. The results of the developed procedure bring several benefits such as the use of commercially available, ecologically benign, operational simplicity, and cheap and chemically inert reagents. It shows good reaction times, practicability and high efficiency, and is easily recovered from the reaction mixture by simple filtration and reused for several consecutive cycles without noticeable change in its catalytic activity. More importantly, high efficiency, simple and an inexpensive procedure, commercially available materials, easy separation, and an eco-friendly procedure are the several advantages of the currently employed heterogeneous catalytic system.