Organocatalytic Ring-Opening (Co)polymerization of Six-Membered Monothiocarbonates for the Synthesis of Recyclable Poly(monothiocarbonate)s
Jianghui Li, Yingying Zhang, Yang Li, Chengjian Zhang, Xinghong Zhang
Abstract
Developing chemically depolymerizable polymers (CDPs) that can revert back to monomers is of great significance for realizing a circular polymer economy. Poly(thiocarbonate)s, sulfur analogs of polycarbonates, are a rather under-investigated group of sulfur-enriched polymers with high potential as CDPs. Here, we report a recyclable poly(monothiocarbonate) obtained via organocatalytic ring-opening polymerization of a six-membered cyclic monothiocarbonate. The resulting polymer exhibited a melting point up to 127 °C and a Young’s modulus of 305 MPa with a tensile stress of 23.2 MPa at 8.8% strain, while the analogue polycarbonate derived from trimethylene carbonate is amorphous with a low modulus (<100 MPa) under ambient temperature. Moreover, a successful copolymerization of 1,3-oxathian-2-one and 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-oxathian-2-one provided an access to precise tunability of thermomechanical performance of the poly(monothiocarbonate)s.