New synthesis of polysulfide polymers: Kinetic study

AbstractNew polysulfide polymers were prepared by a new process from vinyl monomers, elemental sulfur, and sodium metal in THF. The kinetic study of the reactions at −40°C has shown that the overall process can be described by the competition between a slow reaction (initiation of the monomer by the alkali metal) and a fast reaction (deactivation of the carbanion formed by elemental sulfur). These reactions lead to the establishment of a carbanion stationary state. From this data, the orders of magnitude of the apparent deactivation rates of the different carbanions were obtained: ca. 105 1·mol−1·s−1 for the styrene carbanion and 103–104 1·mol−1·s−1 for the butadiene carbanion.