3-Carboxypyridinium chlorochromate – aluminium chloride — An efficient and inexpensive reagent system for the selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides and sulfones in solution and under microwave irradiation

3-Carboxypyridinium chlorochromate (CPCC) in the presence of aluminium chloride is a very efficient reagent for the selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxide and sulfones in solution and under microwave irradiation. It is noteworthy that different functional groups including carbon–carbon double bonds, ketones, oximes, aldehydes, ethers, and acetals were tolerated under these reaction conditions.Key words: sulfoxides, sulfones, oxidation, chlorochromate, Lewis acid.