Inverse vulcanisation: a new Starter's guide to an emerging field

Abstract

Inverse vulcanisation is a rapidly developing field of chemistry and materials science with the potential to afford low cost, green chemistry adherent, next generation polymeric materials from the industrial waste product: elemental sulfur. With tuneable properties, recyclability, as well as convenient and adaptable syntheses and processing, inverse vulcanised polymers may be used in several desirable applications, such as batteries, water purification, and advanced optical components. In the ten years since the field's conception, inverse vulcanisation has garnered growing research interest and popularity, and has even seen some recent commercial uptake. This review article is focused on supporting the growth of the inverse vulcanisation field by providing a resource for new researchers to have the most efficient possible start in the field. In that regard, this review article is designed to act as an ideal starting point for researchers looking to become invested in the field. This review first outlines the origin of inverse vulcanisation, before giving a small account of the applications of inverse vulcanisation and pointing to other useful reviews on these applications, thus making a case for research interest and providing sources of potential inspiration for new ideas. Most importantly, this review goes on to provide an effective resource for lab based researchers to establish themselves with foundational knowledge of the field, while offering a guide to practical skills in performing inverse vulcanisation. In doing so, this review offers a guide to standardising methods in inverse vulcanisation whilst also allowing new lab workers to avoid some of the pitfalls that are not obvious, and not common to other fields of chemistry. Then, this review examines methods of analysing inverse vulcanised polymers, which can be challenging, and sometimes needs careful consideration. Finally, this review looks at some mechanistic considerations of inverse vulcanisation before proposing directions for future research in the field.