From waste to valuable plastics–Discovery of new paradigms from well-studied systems with elemental sulfur

Copolymerization of liquid sulfur with 1,3-di-isopropenylbenzene in the absence of any organic solvent provides a stable copolymer which can be cast in molds and also forms a transparent glass. This new plastic has been found to be an advantageous component of lithium-sulfur batteries and can be processed into lenses with a high refractive index and suitable for IR thermal imaging. These polymers are also shown to be “self-healing.” That is, scratched and now opaque lenses can be repaired simply by thermal treatment. Polymerization of sulfur with 1,4-diphenylbutadiyne provides stable polymers with thiophene sulfur linkages which are improved cathode materials for lithium-sulfur batteries. Studies delineating the chemistry behind these remarkable results and characterization of these materials has been explored.