Magnetic chitosan composite as a green support for anchoring diphenyl diselenide as a biocatalyst for the oxidation of sulfides

Abstract

Development of efficient, inexpensive and recyclable catalysts for a reaction under mild and green reaction conditions is still a very marvelous topic. In this work, diphenyl diselenide stabilized on magnetic chitosan as a novel, highly efficient, ecologically safe, cost-effective and magnetically recoverable heterogeneous nano-biocatalyst was prepared and characterized by different techniques, such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Then, the catalytic activity of resultant nano-biocatalyst was effectively appraised for the chemoselective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides using H₂O₂ as a green oxidant at ambient temperature with a good to high yields without use any organic solvents. Additionally, the easily preparation from cheap and commercially available reagent, carrying out the reactions in the eco-friendly and mild conditions, short reaction times, easy separation from reaction mixture, recoverability and reusability of catalyst for four consecutive cycles without a significant degradation in catalytic activity, are some prominent advantages of this novel catalyst. These advantages make it a potential candidate to address the industrial needs and economic and environmental concerns.

Keywords: Magnetic chitosan; Organoselenium compounds; Oxidation reaction.