Issue 23, 2017

Low cost and renewable sulfur-polymers by inverse vulcanisation, and their potential for mercury capture

Abstract

Sulfur is not only a highly abundant element, but also produced as a by-product of the petrochemicals industry. However, it has not been conventionally used to produce functional materials because polymeric sulfur is unstable, and decomposes back to its monomer. Recently, inverse vulcanisation has been used to produce stable polymeric materials with elemental sulfur as a major component. Here we report a series of alternative crosslinkers for inverse vulcanisation that are either low-cost industrial byproducts, or bio-derived renewables. These are shown to produce stable polymers with superior properties to previously reported materials. When made porous by the action of supercritical carbon dioxide or salt templating, these high sulfur polymers show excellent potential for mercury capture and filtration.

Graphical abstract: Low cost and renewable sulfur-polymers by inverse vulcanisation, and their potential for mercury capture

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Nov. 2016
Accepted
28 Nov. 2016
First published
28 Nov. 2016

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017,5, 11682-11692

Low cost and renewable sulfur-polymers by inverse vulcanisation, and their potential for mercury capture

D. J. Parker, H. A. Jones, S. Petcher, L. Cervini, J. M. Griffin, R. Akhtar and T. Hasell, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, 5, 11682 DOI: 10.1039/C6TA09862B

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