Synthetic modification of poly(S-DVB) under solvent-free conditions at mild temperatures to incorporate additional monomers

Abstract

Elemental sulfur is a byproduct of petroleum refinement. Its abundance offers an inexpensive source of reagent. Inverse vulcanization combines sulfur with little monomer. Sulfur ring opening above 159 °C, forms free radicals to bind monomers. Combining sulfur and divinylbenzene (DVB) forms poly(S-DVB) after 30 minutes at 185 °C. Most monomers lack boiling points above 185 °C, so few monomers can be added. At lower temperatures, linear sulfur chains in poly(S-DVB) cleave forming radicals which polymerize additional monomers. Diallyl, allyl, divinyl, and vinyl monomers with similar structures were incorporated into poly(S-DVB), solvent free at 90 °C. Polymerization was confirmed by 1H-NMR. Polymers were characterized by GPC to determine molecular weight and DSC to find the glass transition temperature. Metal binding studies were conducted using these polysulfides. Poly(S-DVB) initiated polymer formation under mild reaction temperatures, solvent-free. Altering functionality and sulfur content enabled tailoring of material properties and affected metal binding efficiency.