Sulfur Polymer as Emerging Advanced Materials: Synthesis and Applications

Abstract

Abundant availability of inexpensive sulfur coupled with its reactivity triggered the interest of scientific community to explore the unique chemistry of sulfur for developing advanced materials. The reactivity of sulfur diradicals is used for making copolymers with cross-linker monomer dienes through inverse vulcanization principle which is later upgraded by conducting reactions in presence of catalysts so as to achieve functionalized sulfur copolymers at lower reaction temperatures and lower time. Multi-component reactions provide an opportunity for the direct utilization of sulfur at mild conditions. The diverse processing methodologies have further expanded the applicability of sulfur polymeric materials. The dynamicity of the SÀ S bonds has potential to create avenue for making self-healing materials and usher the generation of more functionalized segmented block co-polymers with superior properties. Interfacial condensation polymerization has successfully been implemented for the generation of sulfur nanoparticles in aqueous medium. The recent emergence of sulfur quantum dots through various approaches generated more advanced sulfur based materials in terms of expanding sulfur applications. This review provides an account on advanced materials synthesized using sulfur as raw material and their respective applications.

A Comprehensive Exploration of Polysulfides, From Synthesis Techniques to Diverse Applications and Future Frontiers

“…Thiokol liquid polysulfide is a robust polymer sealant with exceptional chemical resistance, ideal for various industrial and aerospace applications. Produced by reacting sodium polysulfide with an organic halide compound, it forms a durable, flexible sealant resistant to fuels, oils, water, and solvents. , Commonly used to seal aircraft fuel tanks and concrete joints and as a protective coating for infrastructure, it offers reliable protection against harsh environments. Applied by mixing base and curing agent components, it cures into a resilient material, providing effective moisture and chemical barriers.…”

Green and sustainable natural derived polysulfides for a broad range of applications

“…99,102 Due to the presence of thermally reversible S–S bonds in polysulfides, polysulfides are thermally self-healing materials. 103,104 Tonkin et al showed that in the presence of some nucleophiles (amines and phosphines) self-healing could proceed at room temperature 105 because these nucleophiles can accelerate the cleavage of disulfide bonds. Accordingly, a bio-based polysulfide from sulfur, canola oil, and dicyclopentadiene could repair its defects and cracks by treatment with pyridine or tributylphosphine.…”