One-Step Simultaneous Synthesis of an Industrially Important Rubber Accelerator and a Lubricant Additive by Disulfide Bond Contraction

Abstract A sustainable and atom-economic synthesis of the widely used rubber accelerator tetramethylthiuram monosulfide (TMTM) from tetramethylthiuram disulfide is reported. Triphenyl phosphite (TPPi) is employed as a green reductant to replace the usual sodium cyanide, which poses a severe safety risk due to its high toxicity. The new process proceeds smoothly under mild conditions with an excellent yield of TMTM. This single-step one-pot method also has the potential for producing the industrially important lubricant additive O,O,O-triphenyl thiophosphate as a high-added-value byproduct.