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Activation of H2S by Atomic Cr, Mn, and Fe: Matrix Infrared Spectra and Quantum Chemical Calculations

Hydrogen sulfide is toxic and corrosive gas abundantly available in nature. The activation of hydrogen sulfide to produce hydrogen and elemental sulfur is of great significance for possible applications in toxic pollutant control and hydrogen energy regeneration. The activation of H2S by transition metal atoms (M = Cr, Mn, and Fe) has been studied by low-temperature matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. Experimental and theoretical results indicate that the reaction between ground-state M atoms and H2S is inhibited by the repulsive interactions between the reactants. After being excited upon photolysis, the corresponding excited-state M atoms react with H2S molecules spontaneously. The produced insertion product HMSH further decomposed to metal sulfides upon full-arc mercury lamp irradiation by the splitting of hydrogen.

Polymerizations with Elemental Sulfur: From Petroleum Refining to Polymeric Materials

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.