Solubilization of Elemental Sulfur for Free Radical Copolymerizations via Organo-ring opening Activation

This invention describes a method to solubilize elemental sulfur using a method that allows for a wide variety of comonomers to be added for the formulation of chemically valuable products.

Background:
Existing methods typically involve sulfur being heated up to temperatures as high as 300 degrees Celsius. The environment in this heat renders certain monomers ineligible for copolymeric use with sulfur. By using nucleophilic activators, reversible linear polysulfide species can be formed.

Applications:

• Batteries and energy storage
• Existing sulfur copolymerization reactions

Advantages:

• Is performed at lower temperatures than existing methods
• Due to performance at lower temperatures, many comonomers can be added to create novel and relevant copolymers
• Provides improved stability
• Drastically reduces the energy needed to perform sulfur copolymerization