Zhang Jikai, Zuo Yongkang, Yao Hongxin, Zhang Jianwei, Huang Wenyan, Yang Hongjun, Zhang Guangzhao
Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Polymeric Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Centre of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213164, P.R. China.
Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P.R. China.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2025 Jun 24;64(26):e202502207. doi: 10.1002/anie.202502207. Epub 2025 May 5.
The development of polymer materials heavily relies on new polymerization reactions. Herein, we report the discovery of cyclization polymerization of element sulfur (S) and aliphatic diisocyanate at room temperature with 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD) organic base as the catalyst, where the two monomers are covalently linked via the formation of thiadiazolidinone (TDZD) or a cyclic isocyanurate ring. The polymer of S and 1,6-diisocyanatohexane (HDI) exhibits remarkable thermal stability and mechanical properties. Particularly, it has exceptionally high adhesion to various substrates in air or under water, e.g., the underwater adhesion strength is as high as ∼26.5 MPa for poly(ethylene glycol-co-1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol terephthalate) (PETG) and ∼2.3 MPa for poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (Teflon). The cyclization polymerization provides the basis for the synthesis of high-performance polymers with elemental sulfur.
