Enantioselective oxidation of sulfides with H2O2 catalyzed by a pre-formed manganese complex

A facile and environmentally friendly method is presented for the asymmetric oxidation of sulfides with H2O2, utilizing a pre-formed manganese complex. Just in the presence of a low catalytic amount of carboxylic acid (CA), a variety of sulfide substrates, including aryl alkyl, aryl benzyl and cyclic sulfides, reacted to form chiral sulfoxides in high yields (up to 95%) and excellent enantioselectivities (>99% ee) under mild conditions. Moreover, the practical utility of the method has been demonstrated by the synthesis of esomeprazole and albendazole sulfoxide (ABZO).