Revealing the photochemical activity of fluorographene towards organic transformations: selective aerobic photooxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides

Carbon-based materials have been widely applied as metal-free and effective photochemical promoters or catalysts for organic transformations, significantly advancing synthetic chemistry and enhancing the sustainability of the reactions. In this study, fluorographene (FG) was successfully employed as an efficient two-dimensional and non-metal photochemical promoter for the selective aerobic oxidation of sulfides to the corresponding sulfoxides in methanol under blue light at 456 nm and air as the oxidant. The application of the aforementioned protocol in a broad range of organic sulfides provided the corresponding sulfoxides in moderate to excellent yields. The catalytic mechanism was elucidated by the performance of several control experiments and theoretical calculations, confirming the predominant roles of singlet oxygen and superoxide anions for the successful oxidation of sulfides.