Organosulfur polymers, such as those derived from elemental sulfur, are an important new class of macromolecules that have recently emerged via the inverse vulcanization process. Since the launching of this new field in 2013, the development of new monomers and organopolysulfide materials based on the inverse vulcanization process is now an active area in polymer chemistry. While numerous advances have been made over the last decade concerning this polymerization process, insights into the mechanism of inverse vulcanization and structural characterization of the high-sulfurcontent copolymers that are produced remain challenging due to the increasing insolubility of the materials with a higher sulfur content. Furthermore, the high temperatures used in this process can result in side reactions and complex microstructures of the copolymer backbone, complicating detailed characterization. The most widely studied case of inverse vulcanization to date remains the reaction between S 8 and 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene (DIB) to form poly(sulfur-random-1,3-diisopropenylbenzene)(poly(S-r-DIB)). Here, to determine the correct microstructure of poly(S-r-DIB), we performed comprehensive structural characterizations of poly(S-r-DIB) using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (solid state and solution) and analysis of sulfurated DIB units using designer S−S cleavage polymer degradation approaches, along with complementary de novo synthesis of the sulfurated DIB fragments. These studies reveal that the previously proposed repeating units for poly(S-r-DIB) were incorrect and that the polymerization mechanism of this process is significantly more complex than initially proposed. Density functional theory calculations were also conducted to provide mechanistic insights into the formation of the derived nonintuitive microstructure of poly(S-r-DIB).
A polymerization methodology is reported using sulfur monochloride (S 2 Cl 2 ) as an alternative feedstock for polymeric materials. S 2 Cl 2 is an inexpensive petrochemical derived from elemental sulfur (S 8 ) but has numerous advantages as a reactive monomer for polymerization vs S 8 . This new process, termed sulfenyl chloride inverse vulcanization, exploits the high reactivity and miscibility of S 2 Cl 2 with a broad range of allylic monomers to prepare soluble, high molar-mass linear polymers, segmented block copolymers, and crosslinked thermosets with greater synthetic precision than achieved using classical inverse vulcanization. This step-growth addition polymerization also allows for preparation of a new class of thiol-free, inexpensive, highly optically transparent thermosets (α = 0.045 cm −1 at 1310 nm), which exhibit among the best optical transparency and low birefringence relative to commodity optical polymers, while possessing a higher refractive index (n > 1.6) in the visible and near-infrared spectra. The fabrication of large-sized optical components is also demonstrated.
We report a dramatic effect on product outcomes of the lithium ion enabled amino-Cope-like anionic asymmetric cascade when different γ-dienolate heteroatom substituents are employed. For dienolates with azide, thiomethyl, and trifluoromethylthiol substituents, a Mannich/amino-Cope/cyclization cascade ensues to form chiral cyclohexenone products with two new stereocenters in an anti-relationship. For fluoride-substituted nucleophiles, a Mannich/amino-Cope cascade proceeds to afford chiral acyclic products with two new stereocenters in a syn-relationship. Bromide- and chloride-substituted nucleophiles appear to proceed via the same pathway as the fluoride albeit with the added twist of a 3-exo-trig cyclization to yield chiral cyclopropane products with three stereocenters. When this same class of nucleophiles is substituted with a γ-nitro group, the Mannich-initiated cascade is now diverted to a β-lactam product instead of the amino-Cope pathway. These anionic asymmetric cascades are solvent- and counterion-dependent, with a lithium counterion being essential in combination with etheral solvents such as MTBE and CPME. By altering the geometry of the imine double bond from E to Z, the configurations at the R 1 and X stereocenters are flipped. Mechanistic, computational, substituent, and counterion studies suggest that these cascades proceed via a common Mannich-product intermediate, which then proceeds via either a chair (X = N3, SMe, or SCF3) or boat-like (X = F, Cl, or Br) transition state to afford amino-Cope-like products or β-lactam in the case of X = NO2.
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