Highly Efficient Deoxygenation of Sulfoxides Using Hydroxyapatite-supported Ruthenium Nanoparticles

We report the first example of the deoxygenation of sulfoxides using heterogeneous catalysts with alcohols as environmentally friendly reducing reagents. Hydroxyapatite-supported Ru nanoparticles (RuNPs/HAP) act as a highly efficient and reusable heterogeneous catalyst for deoxygenation of sulfoxides using alcohols as reductants. The catalytic activity of Ru nanoparticles is outstanding compared to other metal nanoparticles such as Pt, Pd, Rh, and Au nanoparticles. RuNPs/HAP can also catalyze the selective deoxygenation of various sulfoxides, giving the corresponding sulfides in excellent yields.