Photo-crosslinkable Inorganic/Organic Sulfur Polymers.

Inverse vulcanization techniques are used to fabricate thermodynamically stable, sulfur polymers. Sulfur-based polymers exhibit higher refractive indices and improved transparency in the mid-wave infrared region compared to most organic polymers. Here, we discuss the post-synthetic modification of sulfur polymers created via inverse vulcanization to generate novel, inorganic/organic photoresists. Amine-containing sulfur resins are post-functionalized with crosslinkable alkynes. The sulfur-based materials undergo rapid photocrosslinking to generate pattern-able films within 10 min under UV irradiation (365 nm). The development of these resins enables sulfur polymers to be utilized in processes where spatial and hierarchical control is necessary. The generation of this class of materials also expands on sulfur-based organic polymer systems with optical applications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.