Co-reporter: Philip T. Dirlam, Adam G. Simmonds, R. Clayton Shallcross, Kyle J. Arrington, Woo Jin Chung, Jared J. Griebel, Lawrence J. Hill, Richard S. Glass, Kookheon Char, and Jeffrey Pyun
pp: 111
Publication Date(Web):January 7, 2015
DOI: 10.1021/mz500730s
The synthesis of polymeric materials using elemental sulfur (S8) as the chemical feedstock has recently been developed using a process termed inverse vulcanization. The preparation of chemically stable sulfur copolymers was previously prepared by the inverse vulcanization of S8 and 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene (DIB); however, the development of synthetic methods to introduce new chemical functionality into this novel class of polymers remains an important challenge. In this report the introduction of polythiophene segments into poly(sulfur-random-1,3-diisopropenylbenzene) is achieved by the inverse vulcanization of S8 with a styrenic functional 3,4-propylenedioxythiophene (ProDOT-Sty) and DIB, followed by electropolymerization of ProDOT side chains. This methodology demonstrates for the first time a facile approach to introduce new functionality into sulfur and high sulfur content polymers, while specifically enhancing the charge conductivity of these intrinsically highly resistive materials.