Selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides is an essential step of many biological and industrial processes, leading to sulfoxides, playing the role of essential intermediates since then, a number of methods have been developed for conversion of sulfides into sulfoxides [1, 2]. Reaction of Fe(acac)3 and 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)oxazoline (Hphox) as a bidentate O, N donor ligand afford a six-coordinated iron(III) complex [Fe(phox)2(acac)] with the distorted octahedral configuration. Complex, [Fe(phox)2(acac)] was isolated as an air-stable crystalline solid and fully characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, solution electrical conductivity, and finally by single-crystal X-ray structure analysis. Oxidation of sulfides to their corresponding sulfoxides was conducted by this catalyst using urea hydrogen peroxide (UHP) as an oxidant at room temperature under air. The catalyst shows very efficient reactivity in the oxidation reactions giving high yields and selectivities. Easy preparation, mild reaction conditions, high yields of the products, short reaction time and high selectivity make this catalytic system a useful method for oxidation reactions.
