Polymerizations with Elemental Sulfur: From Petroleum Refining to Polymeric Materials

J Am Chem Soc. 2022 Jan 12;144(1):5-22. doi: 10.1021/jacs.1c09329. Epub 2021 Dec 22.

Abstract

The production of elemental sulfur from petroleum refining has created a technological opportunity to increase the valorization of elemental sulfur by the synthesis of high-performance sulfur-based plastics with improved optical, electrochemical, and mechanical properties aimed at applications in thermal imaging, energy storage, self-healable materials, and separation science. In this Perspective, we discuss efforts in the past decade that have revived this area of organosulfur and polymer chemistry to afford a new class of high-sulfur-content polymers prepared from the polymerization of liquid sulfur with unsaturated monomers, termed inverse vulcanization.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.