Sulfur-rich materials exhibit an array of intriguing properties including high chemical resistance, high refractive indices, and good electrochemical capacities. Furthermore, with a forecast of excess global sulfur production, the direct utilization of elemental sulfur for those high value-added applications entails additional economic benefits. To date, the number of known sulfur-rich polymers is limited, mainly consisting of materials based on elemental sulfur nanoparticles and heavily cross-linked materials from unsaturated organic compounds and linear sulfur diradicals. The methods of the production of these materials do not allow for well-defined systems in which aspects such as sulfur content and molecular connectivity could be predicted and/or controlled.Sulfur-rich polymers from tri- and tetrasulfide dianions via interfacial polymerization have been previously reported. The method involves the polycondensation of alkyl dihalides with Na2Sxdianions. The polymers are obtained as coagulated rubbers, lacking processability due to extremely low solubility in organic solvents.In order for the polysulfide polymers to be effectively exploited in advanced applications, methods to obtain processable, well-defined structures in a controlled manner are imperative. We, herein, report polysulfide nanoparticles prepared through the interfacial polymerization between sulfide anions, generated directly from elemental sulfur, and organic chlorides in the presence of various surfactants and/or phase transfer agents. The sulfur-rich nanoparticles exhibit regular shape and narrow size distribution and, at the same time, can accommodate high sulfur contents (over 70% sulfur by weight). Furthermore, surfactants employed for the synthesis can be easily removed after the nanoparticle synthesis and the nanoparticle surfaces could subsequently be functionalized.

Direct utilization of elemental sulfur for the synthesis of polysulfide polymer nanoparticles

248th National Meeting (2014)

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