Open AccessHigh sulfur content polymers: The effect of crosslinker structure on inverse vulcanization
Author(s) -
Smith Jessica A.,
Wu Xiaofeng,
Berry Neil G.,
Hasell Tom
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of polymer science part a: polymer chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.768
H-Index - 152
eISSN - 1099-0518
pISSN - 0887-624X
DOI - 10.1002/pola.29067
Subject(s) - vulcanization , sulfur , polymer , norbornene , polymer chemistry , elemental analysis , inverse , chemistry , materials science , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , copolymer , natural rubber , geometry , mathematics , engineering
The discovery of inverse vulcanization has allowed polymers to be made using elemental sulfur as the major component. However, until now, there has been little discussion of why seemingly similar crosslinkers result in polymers with radically different properties. Combining synthesis, spectroscopy, and modeling, this study reveals the structure–property relationships of sulfur polymers and reports a new system using 5‐ethylidene‐2‐norbornene as a crosslinker that can stabilize up to 90 wt % of elemental sulfur.