We will discuss our new efforts on new synthetic methods for the polymerization of elemental sulfur to prepare novel functional chalcogenide hybrid inorganic/organic polymers (CHIPs).  The surfeit of elemental sulfur primarily derived from petroleum refining has driven recent efforts to develop new polymerization methods to use sulfur as an alternative feedstocks for polymeric materials.  While the thermally initiated ring-opening homopolymerization of elemental sulfur has long been known, there remains a need for new synthetic approaches to prepare useful polymers from these chemical precursors.  We have recently developed a novel polymerization method, termed, <i>inverse vulcanization</i>, to form chemically stable and processable sulfur copolymers by the free radical copolymerization of elemental sulfur and 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene (DIB).   However, there remain major synthetic challenges to prepare and carrying reactive functional groups into these CHIPs for the creation of improved materials.  We will elaborate upon our new organic catalysts that are capable of accelerating the rate of inverse vulcanization process and enabling the preparation of new materials for Li-S batteries and next generation optical technologies.

Polymerizations with elemental sulfur:  Making weird polymers in weird times

255th National Meeting (2018)

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