Photo-Crosslinkable Inorganic/Organic Sulfur Polymers

Inverse vulcanization techniques are used to fabricate thermodynamically stable, sulfur polymers. Sulfur-based polymers exhibit higher refractive indices and improved transparency in the mid-wave infrared region compared with most organic polymers. Herein, the postsynthetic modification of sulfur polymers created via inverse vulcanization to generate novel, inorganic/organic photoresists is discussed. Amine-containing sulfur resins are postfunctionalized with cross-linkable alkynes. The sulfur-based materials undergo rapid photo-crosslinking to generate patternable films within 10 min under UV irradiation (365 nm). The development of these resins enables sulfur polymers to be utilized in processes where spatial and hierarchical control is necessary. The generation of this class of materials also expands on sulfur-based organic polymer systems with optical applications.

Reaction between 1,3,5-Triisopropylbenzene and Elemental Sulfur Extending the Scope of Reagents in Inverse Vulcanization

Inverse vulcanization utilizes an organic compound as reagent for crosslinking elemental sulfur to result in corresponding polymeric material with a high sulfur content. This work, employing 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene (TIPB) as the reagent, demonstrates the first attempt on extending the scope of crosslinking agents of inverse vulcanization to saturate compounds. Under nuclear magnetic spectroscopic analysis, the reactions between TIPB and elemental sulfur take places through ring-opening reaction of S₈ resulting in sulfur radicals at sulfur chain ends, radicals transferring to isopropyl groups of TIPB, and radical coupling reactions between carbon radicals and sulfur radicals. The obtained products are similar to the sulfur polymers from conventional inverse vulcanization processes and show self-healing property.

A Degradable Inverse Vulcanized Copolymer as a Coating Material for Urea Produced under Optimized Conditions

Global enhancement of crop yield is achieved using chemical fertilizers; however, agro-economy is affected due to poor nutrient uptake efficacy (NUE), which also causes environmental pollution. Encapsulating urea granules with hydrophobic material can be one solution. Additionally, the inverse vulcanized copolymer obtained from vegetable oils are a new class of green sulfur-enriched polymer with good biodegradation and better sulfur oxidation potential, but they possess unreacted sulfur, which leads to void generations. In this study, inverse vulcanization reaction conditions to minimize the amount of unreacted sulfur through response surface methodology (RSM) is optimized. The copolymer obtained was then characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). FTIR confirmed the formation of the copolymer, TGA demonstrated that copolymer is thermally stable up to 200 °C temperature, and DSC revealed the sulfur conversion of 82.2% (predicted conversion of 82.37%), which shows the goodness of the model developed to predict the sulfur conversion. To further maximize the sulfur conversion, 5 wt% diisopropenyl benzene (DIB) as a crosslinker is added during synthesis to produce terpolymer. The urea granule is then coated using terpolymer, and the nutrient release longevity of the coated urea is tested in distilled water, which revealed that only 65% of its total nutrient is released after 40 days of incubation. The soil burial of the terpolymer demonstrated its biodegradability, as 26% weight loss happens in 52 days of incubation. Thus, inverse vulcanized terpolymer as a coating material for urea demonstrated far better nutrient release longevity compared with other biopolymers with improved biodegradation; moreover, these copolymers also have potential to improve sulfur oxidation.

Sulfur/Organic Copolymers as Curing Agents for Rubber

It is widely acknowledged that waste sulfur generated from the petroleum industry creates huge storage and ecological problems. Therefore, the various methods of utilization are becoming increasingly attractive research topics worldwide. The thermal ability of elemental sulfur to homolytic cleavage of S₈ rings enables its free radical copolymerization with unsaturated organic species and the obtaining of chemically stable polymeric materials. Here we report a novel possibility to use sulfur/organic copolymers obtained via "inverse vulcanization" as curatives for rubber. For this purpose, several various sulfur/organic copolymers were synthesized and analyzed from the point of view of their performance as rubber crosslinking agents. Solvent extraction was used to purify sulfur/organic copolymers from unreacted (elemental) sulfur. Thermal properties of the prepared copolymers were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (TGA⁻DSC). Crosslink density and structure of cured elastomers was studied by equilibrium swelling, thiol-amine analysis and freezing point depression. Mechanical properties of the vulcanizates were determined under static and dynamic conditions (DMA-dynamic mechanical analysis). It is proved that the utilization of sulfur/organic copolymers as curatives enables an effective crosslinking process of rubbers. Taking into account the results of a crosslink density analysis and mechanical properties of the vulcanizates cured with purified copolymers, it is evident that relatively long copolymer macromolecules are also involved in the formation of chemical bonds between unsaturated rubber macromolecules.

Electronic Structure Characterization of Cross-Linked Sulfur Polymers

Cross-linked polymers of elemental sulfur are of potential interest for electronic applications as they enable facile thin-film processing of an abundant and inexpensive starting material. Here, we characterize the electronic structure of a cross-linked sulfur/diisopropenyl benzene (DIB) polymer by a combination of soft and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (SOXPES and HAXPES). Two different approaches for enhancing the conductivity of the polymer are compared: the addition of selenium in the polymer synthesis and the addition of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) during film preparation. For the former, we observe the incorporation of Se into the polymer structure resulting in a changed valence-band structure. For the latter, a Fermi level shift in agreement with p-type doping of the polymer is observed and also the formation of a surface layer consisting mostly of TFSI anions.