Nuclear magnetic resonance structural characterization of sulfur‐derived copolymers from inverse vulcanization. Part 1: Styrene

Abstract

Organosulfur polymers prepared via the inverse vulcanization of elemental sulfur with olefinic comonomers represent a new class of high‐chalcogenide content organic/inorganic macromolecules. Extensive reporting on new synthetic advances and materials derived from the inverse vulcanization process have been explored in the past decade. However, detailed structural analysis of these sulfur copolymers have not been rigorously conducted, due to the poor solubility of many of these materials, coupled with the numerous side‐reactions that result in complex microstructures from these synthetic methods. In the current report, we revisit analysis of the solution 13C NMR spectral data for poly(S‐r‐Sty) and identify for the first time previously unidentified carbon peaks that offer new insights into a corrected repeating unit structure of this sulfur copolymer.

Water‐Soluble Ionic Liquid‐Containing Sulfur Polymers for Mercury Capture, Demulsification, and Antibacterial Activity

“…[1] Inverse vulcanization includes the polymerization of elemental sulfur with vinylic comonomers, for example, dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), [2,3] divinylbenzene (DVB), [4] 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene (DIB), [5][6][7] limonene, [8] styrene, etc. [9] The variety of comonomers endows sulfur polymers with enhanced electrochemical, [10] thermomechanical, [5] and optical properties, [11] gradually expanding the applications of sulfur polymers and thus turning sulfur waste into a valuable resource. So far, most of the sulfur polymers exhibit limited water solubility due to the hydrophobic nature of both sulfur and the comonomers used.…”