Issue 23, 2022

Water as a monomer: synthesis of an aliphatic polyethersulfone from divinyl sulfone and water

Abstract

Using water as a monomer in polymerization reactions presents a unique and exquisite strategy towards more sustainable chemistry. Herein, the feasibility thereof is demonstrated by the introduction of the oxa-Michael polyaddition of water and divinyl sulfone. Upon nucleophilic or base catalysis, the corresponding aliphatic polyethersulfone is obtained in an interfacial polymerization at room temperature in high yield (>97%) within an hour. The polyethersulfone is characterized by relatively high molar mass averages and a dispersity around 2.5. The polymer was tested as a solid polymer electrolyte with lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) as the salt. Free-standing amorphous membranes were prepared by a melt process in a solvent-free manner. The polymer electrolyte containing 15 wt% LiTFSI featured an oxidative stability of up to 5.5 V vs. Li/Li+ at 45 °C and a conductivity of 1.45 × 10−8 S cm−1 at room temperature.

Graphical abstract: Water as a monomer: synthesis of an aliphatic polyethersulfone from divinyl sulfone and water

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
13 4 2022
Accepted
20 5 2022
First published
23 5 2022
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2022,13, 6920-6928

Water as a monomer: synthesis of an aliphatic polyethersulfone from divinyl sulfone and water

K. Ratzenböck, M. M. Ud Din, S. M. Fischer, E. Žagar, D. Pahovnik, A. D. Boese, D. Rettenwander and C. Slugovc, Chem. Sci., 2022, 13, 6920 DOI: 10.1039/D2SC02124B

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