The synthesis of poly­(thioether), a highly desired sulfur-containing polymer, is still a key challenge. Herein, we report a simple and facile approach to poly­(thioether)­s by closed-system one-pot reaction of carbonyl sulfide (COS) and epoxides. This route underwent the coupling reaction of COS with epoxides, followed by decarboxylative ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of the generated mixed cyclic thiocarbonates with releasing of CO2 and a little bit of COS. Organic base was used as catalyst and initiator in the two steps, respectively. The oxygen/sulfur exchange reaction was driven by successive regioselective elementary reactions and spontaneous releasing of CO2 (COS), leading to the sulfur atom of COS transferring to poly­(thioether)­s, which was well demonstrated by DFT studies. This work provides an easy-to-handle, metal-free route to poly­(thioether)­s bearing diverse structures by using readily available chemicals.

The short cytoplasmic tail of mouse CD1d (mCD1d) is required for its endosomal localization, for the presentation of some glycolipid Ags, and for the development of Vα14i NKT cells. This tail has a four-amino acid Tyr-containing motif, Tyr-Gln-Asp-Ile (YQDI), similar to those sequences known to be important for the interaction with adaptor protein complexes (AP) that mediate the endosomal localization of many different proteins. In fact, mCD1d has been shown previously to interact with the AP-3 adaptor complex. In the present study, we mutated each amino acid in the YQDI motif to determine the importance of the entire motif sequence in influencing mCD1d trafficking, its interaction with adaptors, and its intracellular localization. The results indicate that the Y, D, and I amino acids are significant functionally because mutations at each of these positions altered the intracellular distribution of mCD1d and reduced its ability to present glycosphingolipids to NKT cells. However, the three amino acids are not all acting in the same way because they differ with regard to how they influence the intracellular distribution of CD1d, its rate of internalization, and its ability to interact with the μ subunit of AP-3. Our results emphasize that multiple steps, including interactions with the adaptors AP-2 and AP-3, are required for normal trafficking of mCD1d and that these different steps are mediated by only a few cytoplasmic amino acids.

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An all-solid-state sodium–sulfur (Na–S) battery using a S/CPAN (carbonized polyacrylonitrile) composite cathode and poly­(ethylene oxide) (PEO) electrolyte was prepared and tested at 60 °C. The S/CPAN composites was synthesized by heating a mixture of S and PAN at 600 °C. The solid polymer electrolytes consisted of PEO, NaFSI, and different amounts nano-TiO2. Moreover, the PEO–NaFSI–1% TiO2 electrolyte was chosen to be the electrolyte in all-solid-state Na–S battery due to its high ionic conductivity (4.89 × 10–4 S cm–2 at 60 °C) as well as outstanding electrochemical and thermal stability. The specific capacity of the S/CPAN composite cathode material can be 252 mAh g–1 (713 mAh g–1 sulfur) at the second cycle, and it still remains 251 mAh g–1 (710 mAh g–1 sulfur) after 100 cycles with a Coulombic efficiency near 100%.