The use of vanadium supported on modified magnetic Fe3O4-nanoparticles as a simple, green and cost-effective catalyst for the oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides using hydrogen peroxide is presented. These nanoparticles have also been applied for the silylation of alcohols in acetonitrile and acetylation of alcohols under solvent-free conditions. This method provides a novel and much improved modification of the protection and oxidation reactions in terms of mild reaction conditions, short reaction time and good to excellent yields of products. Another important feature of this method is that the catalyst can be easily recovered from the reaction mixture and reused with no loss of its catalytic activity.
