Oxidation of aryl methyl sulfoxides by oxo(salen)manganese(V) complexes and the reactivity-selectivity principle

The oxidation of various para-substituted phenyl methyl sulfoxides with several substituted oxo(salen)manganese(V) complexes follows an overall second-order kinetics that is first-order in sulfoxide and in oxo(salen)manganese(V) complex. Electron-releasing substituents in sulfoxides and electron-withdrawing substituents in oxo(salen)manganese(V) complexes enhance the rate of oxidation. The less nucleophilic sulfoxides are more sensitive to substituent effect (rho = -2.44) compared to the corresponding sulfides (rho = -1.86). These results are interpreted with a common mechanism involving the electrophilic attack of the oxidant on the sulfur center of the substrate. Correlation analyses show the presence of an inverse relationship between reactivity and selectivity in the reactions of various sulfoxides with a given oxo(salen)manganese(V) complex and vice versa. Mathematical treatment of the results leads to the conclusion that this redox system falls under strong reactivity-selectivity principle.