CS2-based one-pot multicomponent tandem polymerization toward functional polybenzothiazoles

• Published in: Polymer chemistry Vol. 15; no. 23; pp. 2408 - 2415
• Main Authors: Liu, Dongming, Zhang, Haoran, Zhang, Lijing, Wang, Jia, Chang, Zhiyang, Cong, Hailin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 22.05.2024
• Subjects: Amines; Chemical synthesis; Copper chloride; Environmental protection; Polymerization; Polymers; Refractivity; Sulfur; Thermal stability; Weight loss
• ISSN: 1759-9954; 1759-9962
• DOI: 10.1039/d3py01406a

CS2 is an attractive sulfur source in organic synthesis. The conversion of abundant, low-cost, sustainable and toxic CS2 into sulfur-containing functional polymers is of great significance from the standpoints of both polymer synthesis and environmental protection. In this work, a robust one-pot multicomponent tandem polymerization of CS2, amines and 2-iodoaniline was developed for efficient synthesis of sulfur-containing fused-heterocyclic polymers. The polymerizations were carried out in the presence of CuCl2·2H2O and K2CO3, and a series of polybenzothiazoles (PBTs) with multiple structures and high molecular weights (Mw up to 43 500) were generated in excellent yields (up to 94%). The PBTs exhibited high thermal stability with 5% weight loss temperatures ranging from 288 to 338 °C and could emit bright fluorescence in solution owing to the high contents of benzothiazole rings in the structures. In addition, the PBT films exhibited high refractive indices of up to 1.82 at 632.8 nm. This work not only establishes a readily accessible and efficient polymerization for direct CS2 fixation, but also provides various functional polybenzothiazoles with potential applications in materials science and the biological field.