Hydrogenation of sulfoxides to sulfides under mild conditions using ruthenium nanoparticle catalysts.

The first demonstration of the hydrogenation of sulfoxides under atmospheric H2 pressure is reported. The highly efficient reaction is facilitated by a heterogeneous Ru nanoparticle catalyst. The mild reaction conditions enable the selective hydrogenation of a wide range of functionalized sulfoxides to the corresponding sulfides. The high redox ability of RuO(x) nanoparticles plays a key role in the hydrogenation.