Electro- and acid-catalysis in tetrafluoroborate-based ionic liquid: new alternative routes for the oxidation of sulfides with UHP

By means of anodic activation, BF4-based ionic liquid was found to play the triple role of electrolysis/reaction medium, supporting electrolyte and pre-catalyst versus the oxidation of sulfides with UHP. Galvanostatic electrolysis in the presence of substrate and UHP molecules allowed the fast, efficient and selective achievement of sulfoxides. Comparable results have been attained by acid catalysis based on R-CSA.