Selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides with cyanuric chloride and urea–hydrogen peroxide adduct

Although a number of methods have been developed for the selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides, the need remains for alternative efficient, reliable strategies that can be generally applied to various sulfides and that use readily available reagents under mild reaction conditions. Herein, we report the use of urea–hydrogen peroxide adduct (UHP) and cyanuric chloride in CH3CN at room temperature to convert sulfides to sulfoxides in excellent yields. In particular, this protocol produced sulfoxides with aromatic rings bearing electron-withdrawing groups in excellent yields.