Oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides with H2O2/HNO3 reagent system.

Selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides is achieved by H2O2 using HNO3 as the promotor. Aromatic and aliphatic sulfides are oxidized to sulfoxides in excellent yields and short reaction times. Different functional groups including C-C double bond, ester, ketone, acetal, alcohol, and oxime groups are tolerated under this reaction condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]