Two Schiff-base complexes of copper and zirconium oxide supported on mesoporous MCM-41 as an organic–inorganic hybrid catalysts in the chemo and homoselective oxidation of sulfides and synthesis of tetrazoles

A simple and efficient procedure was reported for the synthesis of tetrazole derivatives, the chemo and homoselective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides in the presence of two Schiff-base complexes of zirconium oxide and copper anchored on MCM-41 as mesoporous and organometallic catalysts under green conditions. All the products were obtained in excellent yields with high TOF values indicating the high activity of the synthesized catalysts. These catalysts were characterized by XRD, TGA, SEM, EDS, FT-IR, TEM, WDX, BET and AAS techniques and can be recycled for several times without significant loss in catalytic activity. The recovered catalysts were characterized by SEM, FT-IR and AAS analysis which shown an excellent agreement with fresh catalysts.