Inverse vulcanization of trimethoxyvinylsilane particles

Elemental sulfur, a highly abundant waste product from natural gas and oil refining, can be used to create polymeric materials when reacted with unsaturated organic comonomers at elevated temperatures. Herein, we report on the inverse vulcanization of trimethoxyvinylsilane (TMVS) particles to obtain sulfur coated TMVS-sulfur (TMVS-S) particles with a sulfur content of 18.85 wt%. TMVS-S particles exhibit a high surface-to-volume ratio, insolubility, and can further be functionalized with N-vinylimidazole (NVIA) to incorporate N-donor ligands, known for copper(II) complexation. Adsorption experiments with aqueous solutions of mercury(II) and copper(II) ions revealed very good distribution coefficients of TMVS-S-NVIA particles for mercury and copper remediation, showcasing possibilities arising from combining inorganic siloxane and sulfur polymers towards novel adsorbent materials derived from abundant and commercially available compounds.