Tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD, thiram) is one of
the most
important fungicides and is widely used in agriculture for seed treatment
and crop protection. TMTD is produced by a number of plants. Its annual
sales are estimated at tens of millions of US dollars. Traditional
chemical synthesis of thiram is accompanied by the formation of a
significant amount of waste, including inorganic salts, thioacids,
polysulfides, etc. Herein, we report an advanced method of TMTD and
its structural analogues production, which is based on the usage of
electric current as a key participant. Such an electrochemical approach
avoids application of the chemical oxidant required for previous processes
and can be efficiently scaled up. All of these characteristics make
the developed synthetic method quite promising both economically and
ecologically.