Electrochemical Polymerization to Access CS2-Derived Polythioureas at Room Temperature

Electrochemistry has been widely used in energy storage, metallurgy, chemical synthesis and other fields since its birth using electricity as one of the cheapest reagents. However, compared with the revival of electrochemical synthesis of small molecules, the electrochemical polymerization for preparing macromolecules is still rudimentary due to formidable challenges. Herein, A unique electrochemical polymerization is disclosed between CS₂ and diamines at room temperature in an electrolyte-free manner to access poly thioureas. Polythioureas have high selectivity for four metal ions, including Au³⁺, Ag⁺, Pt⁴⁺, and Hg²⁺, and can be used as an efficient adsorbent for recovering gold from metal waste.