On the Fundamental Polymer Chemistry of Inverse Vulcanizationn for Statistical and Segmented Copolymers from Elemental Sulfur

Abstract: We discuss in this CONCEPT mini-review the fundamental and polymerization chemistry of inverse vulcanization for the preparation of statistical and segmented sulfur copolymers, which have been actively developed and advanced in various applications over the past decade. We explicitly delve into a discussion of step-growth polymerization constructs to describe the inverse vulcanization process and discuss prepolymer approaches for the synthesis of segmented sulfur polyurethanes. We further discuss the advantages of inverse vulcanization in conjunction with dynamic covalent polymerization and post-polymerization modifications to prepare segmented block copolymers with enhanced thermomechanical and flame retardant properties of these materials.