Photo-Crosslinkable Inorganic/Organic Sulfur Polymers

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Optoelectronics

Background:

• Sulfur polymers, synthesized via inverse vulcanization, offer superior refractive indices and mid-wave infrared transparency compared to traditional organic polymers.
• Current applications of sulfur polymers are limited by the need for advanced processing techniques.
• Developing novel functional materials from sulfur polymers is crucial for expanding their utility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To post-synthetically modify sulfur polymers for the creation of novel inorganic/organic photoresists.
• To investigate the photo-crosslinking behavior of functionalized sulfur-based resins.
• To demonstrate the potential of these materials in applications requiring spatial and hierarchical control.

Main Methods:

• Inverse vulcanization was employed to synthesize sulfur polymers.
• Amine-containing sulfur resins were post-functionalized with cross-linkable alkynes.
• Photo-crosslinking of the modified resins was achieved using UV irradiation (365 nm).

Main Results:

• Novel inorganic/organic photoresists were successfully generated from sulfur polymers.
• The functionalized sulfur-based materials exhibited rapid photo-crosslinking, forming patternable films in under 10 minutes.
• The developed resins demonstrate suitability for processes demanding precise spatial and hierarchical control.

Conclusions:

• Post-synthetic modification of sulfur polymers via inverse vulcanization yields versatile photoresist materials.
• These sulfur-based photoresists possess advantageous optical properties and rapid photopatterning capabilities.
• This advancement broadens the scope of sulfur-based polymers for optical and microfabrication applications.