Room temperature synthesis of polythioamides from multicomponent polymerization of sulfur, pyridine-activated alkyne, and amines

Abstract

Through the design of a pyridine-activated diyne monomer, the catalyst-free multicomponent polymerizations of sulfur, aromatic alkyne, and a group of commercially available primary and secondary diamines were realized at room temperature or 40 °C, affording functional polythioamides with well-defined structures, high yields (up to 98%), high molecular weights (95 100 g mol⁻¹), improved mercury removal performance, and interesting photophysical and photochemical properties. This work not only demonstrated an advance in efficient and economic synthesis of polythioamides, but also revealed the structure–property relationship of these promising sulfur-containing polymer materials.