Patent ID: 8314133

Claim:
A process for preparing a 3-triazolyl sulphoxide of formula (I) wherein X 1 and X 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, hydrogen, (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl, and (C 1 -C 12 )haloalkyl, Y 1 and Y 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, hydrogen, (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl, and (C 1 -C 12 )haloalkyl, R 1 and R 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl, (C 1 -C 12 )haloalkyl, cyano, halogen, and nitro, R 3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl, amino, nitro, NH(CO)(C 1 -C 12 )alkyl, and N═CR′R, R, R′ are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl, and aryl, and wherein said sulphoxide is enantiomerically pure, or enantiomerically enriched in the (+) or (−) enantiomer, comprising reacting a sulphide of formula (II) in which X 1 , X 2 , Y 1 , Y 2 , R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are each as defined above, with an oxidizing agent, in a solvent, and in the presence of a chiral catalyst, at a reaction temperature between 10° C. and 60° C., wherein the oxidizing agent is hydrogen peroxide; and the chiral catalyst is a chiral metal-ligand complex comprising a transition metal and a chiral ligand, wherein the transition metal is vanadium,iron or manganese.