title: High sulfur content polymer nanoparticles obtained from interfacial polymerization of sodium polysulfide and 1,2,3-trichloropropane in water.
abstract: Sulfur-rich materials have recently attracted keen interest for their potentials in optical, electrochemical, and pesticidal applications as well as their utility in dynamic covalent bond chemistry. Many sulfur-rich polymers, however, are insoluble and processing methods are therefore very limited. The synthesis and characterization of water-dispersible polymer nanoparticles (NPs) with the sulfur content exceeding 75% by weight, obtained from the interfacial polymerization between 1,2,3-trichloropropane and sodium polysulfide in water is reported here. The interfacial polymerization yields well-defined sulfur-rich NPs in the presence of surfactants, which are capable of serving a dual role as a phase transfer catalyst on top of emulsifiers. Such dual role allows for the control of the product NP size by varying its concentration. The surfactants can be easily removed by centrifugation and redispersion in water is also reported here. The resulting sulfur-rich NPs are characterized through elemental analysis, dynamic light scattering, ζ-potential measurements, and scanning electron microscopy.
authors.affiliation: The National Creative Research Initiative Center for Intelligent Hybrids, The WCU Program of Chemical Convergence for Energy & Environment, School of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-744, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeewoo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: The National Creative Research Initiative Center for Intelligent Hybrids, The WCU Program of Chemical Convergence for Energy & Environment, School of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-744, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Unho
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: The National Creative Research Initiative Center for Intelligent Hybrids, The WCU Program of Chemical Convergence for Energy & Environment, School of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-744, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Won Tae
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Joe
authors.affiliation: The National Creative Research Initiative Center for Intelligent Hybrids, The WCU Program of Chemical Convergence for Energy & Environment, School of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-744, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eui Tae
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, 1306 East University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pyun
authors.affiliation: The National Creative Research Initiative Center for Intelligent Hybrids, The WCU Program of Chemical Convergence for Energy & Environment, School of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-744, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kookheon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Char
mesh_terms: D000067493:Dynamic Light Scattering; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D058105:Polymerization; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D011407:Propane / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry*; D013455:Sulfur / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D013440:Sulfides; D014867:Water; C009536:1,2,3-trichloropropane; D013455:Sulfur; C032915:polysulfide; D011407:Propane
keywords: interfacial polymerization; polymer nanoparticles; sodium polysulfides; sulfur