Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: In inverse vulcanization chemistry, research has predominantly focused on multifunctional unsaturated comonomers to stabilize sulfur-rich structures, whereas the direct copolymerization of elemental sulfur with simple olefins has remained comparatively unexplored. Extending this concept to the simplest olefin, we report Minimal Ethylene-Sulfur Copolymers (MinESC), synthesized through the direct reaction of gaseous ethylene with elemental sulfur via a base-mediated inverse vulcanization approach under mild conditions. These materials are viscoelastic fluids of tunable viscosity reaching exceptionally high values. They exhibit a peculiar sheet-like morphology, polar surfaces, elevated electrical conductivity, and high permittivity, and can be reprocessed into predominantly elastic structures following thermal treatment. Our approach provides a straightforward route to a distinct class of sulfurethylene-derived functional materials and demonstrates that inverse vulcanization chemistry can be extended to the simplest olefin under industrially relevant pressures and temperatures.
Source: ChemRxiv
Institutions: KU Leuven, Universitat de Girona, Helmholtz Institute Jena, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Haute-Alsace, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Institut de Sciences des Matériaux de Mulhouse, Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Language: English
Subfield: Polymers and Plastics
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1735365441, ZAP-2019-17 High throughput processing of polymers and structured materials, (CIRCA) Circular plastics: advanced chemical recycling of plastic waste, Development of novel amphiphilic copolymers based on a combination of polyolefins and renewable biopolymers for the use as alternative feedstocks in 3D printing, G727135058
OpenAlex ID: W7221505557