Issue 1, 2021

Microfluidic electrosynthesis of thiuram disulfides

Abstract

An electrolytic approach to sodium dithiocarbamates based on a microfluidic reactor is proposed for the green synthesis of thiuram disulfides, which are versatile free radical initiators. The electro-oxidation reactions avoid the over-oxidation of sodium dithiocarbamates and the generation of waste salts, which have perplexed the industry for a long time. This microfluidic electrolysis method prevents solid deposition by introducing liquid–liquid Taylor flow into the microchannel, and promotes the synthesis efficiency of thiuram disulfides with the enlargement of the electrode-specific surface area. The highest yield of thiuram disulfide was 88% in the experiment without any oxidation by-products. The Faraday efficiencies of most reactions are higher than 96%, showing the excellent electronic utilization. In addition to improving the environmental friendliness of sodium dithiocarbamate oxidation, the electrosynthesis method helps to create a cyclic technology of thiuram disulfide synthesis via the combination of sodium dithiocarbamate generation in a packed bed reactor. The cyclic technology finally achieved >99% atom utilization in thiuram disulfide synthesis from secondary amines and carbon disulfide.

Graphical abstract: Microfluidic electrosynthesis of thiuram disulfides

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Oct 2020
Accepted
10 Dec 2020
First published
10 Dec 2020

Green Chem., 2021,23, 582-591

Microfluidic electrosynthesis of thiuram disulfides

S. Zheng, K. Wang and G. Luo, Green Chem., 2021, 23, 582 DOI: 10.1039/D0GC03336G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements