Selective and convenient oxidation of thiols to disulfides using n-butyltriphenylphosphonium dichromate (Bun PPh3) 2Cr2O7 in solution, under solvent-free conditions and microwave irradiation

Abstract

A variety of aliphatic, aromatic, and heteroaromatic thiols were rapidly and cleanly converted to their corresponding disulfides in excellent yields using n-butyltriphenylphosphonium dichromate (BTPPDC) in acetonitrile solution under solvent-free conditions and microwave irradiation. Selective oxidation of thiols in the presence of other oxidizable functional groups, such as alcohol and sulfide, is a noteworthy advantage of this method.