The photolysis of Mn(CO)5Br with thiols under aerobic conditions at room temperature produces the corresponding disulfides in high yields, accompanied by the evolution of hydrogen as the only other product. This transformation is a greener route toward the synthesis of disulfides and exhibits 100% atom economy. The catalytic system possesses high chemoselectivity, as evidenced by high disulfide yields even in the presence of numerous functional groups. A mechanism has been proposed to involve free radical species and is based on fac-Mn(CO)3(RSH)2Br being an important catalytic intermediate. Mn(CO)5Br is also able to catalyze the conversion of naturally occurring water-soluble thiols such as cysteine and glutathione. Coupled with suitable enzymes that regenerate thiols from disulfides using proton sources, it is possible to envisage a combined catalytic cycle that is able to reduce protons to hydrogen efficiently.

The UV photolysis of CpMn(CO)3 with thiols at room temperature effected the following catalytic transformation: 2 RSH → R2S2 + H2. This reaction is a cleaner and greener way toward making disulfides, as it produces dihydrogen as the only side-product. The manganese system exhibits high chemoselectivity as the transformation proceeds efficiently even in the presence of numerous functional groups. A manganese dicarbonyl complex, CpMn(CO)2RSH, and cyclopentadiene have also been detected using FTIR and NMR spectroscopic techniques, respectively. Based on our experimental data, a mechanism has been proposed to account for the catalysis.