Selective aerobic oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides in water under blue light irradiation over Bi4O5Br2

Abstract

The effective and highly selective aerobic oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides under green and mild conditions is still an important but challenging process. Here we present a photocatalytic system for sulfide oxidation to sulfoxides with high yields under blue LED irradiation. The photo-oxidation was carried out in water with oxygen over a bismuth-rich catalyst of Bi₄O₅Br₂. The apparent quantum efficiency of sulfide oxidation reached 57.4%. The developed system provided a simple, robust, green and sustainable promising candidate for the practical application of sulfide oxidation.