Chemically Recyclable Poly(tetrathioorthocarbonate)s: Combining High Refractive Index and Abbe Number

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Optics

Background:

• High refractive index (n) and Abbe number (vD) polymers are crucial for advanced optical devices.
• Fabricating such polymers is challenging due to the trade-off between light refraction and dispersion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient strategy for synthesizing sulfur-rich polymers with desirable optical properties.
• To overcome the limitations of traditional materials used in optical applications.

Main Methods:

• Synthesized sulfur-rich polymers via alternating copolymerization of thiiranes and cyclic trithiocarbonates.
• Utilized tetrathioorthocarbonate as the functional group.
• Employed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to analyze the copolymerization mechanism.

Main Results:

• Achieved high optical properties: refractive index (n) of 1.706, Abbe number (vD) of 40.9, and 90% optical transparency.
• Demonstrated controlled synthesis of poly(tetrathioorthocarbonate)s (PTOCs).
• DFT calculations revealed high selectivity due to thermodynamically unfavorable trithiocarbonate anion elimination.

Conclusions:

• The developed method efficiently produces sulfur-rich polymers with excellent optical properties.
• PTOCs offer a promising material for advanced optical applications.
• The polymers can be recycled into their original monomers through simple pyrolysis.