We will discuss our recent efforts on the utilization of elemental sulfur for novel polymers and nanocomposites.  Sulfur is commonly used a vulcanizing agent in the crosslinking of rubber for tires, however the use of elemental sulfur as the primary monomer, or comonomer for polymeric materials has not been widely explored.  Elemental sulfur is currently produced on the level of 70 million tons annually, the majority of which is thru hydrodesulfurization of crude petroleum.  Consequentnly, over 6 million tons of elemental sulfur is generated in excess, which creates exciting opportunities to develop new chemistry and processing to utilize sulfur as a feedstock for polymers.  We will discuss our recent work in the direct utilization of sulfur to prepare thermosetting polymeric sulfur and nanocomposites with colloidal inclusions.

Elemental sulfur: A novel, abundant feedstock for polymers and nanocomposite materials

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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