Two heterogeneous catalysts, MCM-41@Tryptophan-Cd and MCM-41@Tryptophan-Hg, were synthesized by immobilization of Cd or Hg complexes on MCM-41 as novel, efcient, recoverable and stable nanocatalysts for Oxidation of sulfdes to sulfoxides and oxidative coupling of thiols into their corresponding disulfdes. These functionalized complexes were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms. The designed catalysts successfully oxidized a variety of sulfdes and thiols with short reaction times in high to excellent yields at room temperature and recovered for several times without signifcant loss of their catalytic activity.
