{
  "abstract": "In inverse vulcanization chemistry, research has predominantly focused on multifunctional unsaturated comonomers to stabilize sulfur-rich structures, whereas the direct copolymerization of elemental sulfur with simple olefins has remained comparatively unexplored. Extending this concept to the simplest olefin, we report Minimal Ethylene-Sulfur Copolymers (MinESC), synthesized through the direct reaction of gaseous ethylene with elemental sulfur via a base-mediated inverse vulcanization approach under mild conditions. These materials are viscoelastic fluids of tunable viscosity reaching exceptionally high values. They exhibit a peculiar sheet-like morphology, polar surfaces, elevated electrical conductivity, and high permittivity, and can be reprocessed into predominantly elastic structures following thermal treatment. Our approach provides a straightforward route to a distinct class of sulfurethylene-derived functional materials and demonstrates that inverse vulcanization chemistry can be extended to the simplest olefin under industrially relevant pressures and temperatures.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Wetenschapspark 27, Diepenbeek, Belgium, 3590",
    "Xplore s.r.l, Viale delle Industrie - III traversa, Carinaro, CE, Italy, 81032",
    "Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi (IQCC) and Departament de Química, Universitat de Girona",
    "Institut de Science des Matériaux de Mulhouse (IS2M, UMR 7361 CNRS/Université de Haute Alsace (UHA, 15 rue Jean Starcky, Mulhouse Cedex, France, 68057",
    "Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe (IVW) GmbH, Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße 58, Kaiserslautern, Germany, 67663",
    "Laboratory of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry (IOMC, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Humboldtstr. 10, Jena, Germany, 07743",
    "Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications Jena (HIPOLE Jena, Lessingstr. 12–14, Jena, Germany, 07743",
    "Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin for Materials and Energy GmbH"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jules Henrotte"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Francesco Zaccaria"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Alessio Mingione"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4,
        5,
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Hatice Mutlu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Anton Ginzburg",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7022-7014"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cx1pye6wg6zdq.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15010293/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "cx1pye6wg6zdq",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010293/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2507|Synthesis and properties of polymers"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221505557",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010293/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-12",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cx1pye6wg6zdq.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15010293",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010293/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2507|Synthesis and properties of polymers",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "When Ethylene Meets Sulfur: Direct Synthesis of Minimal Ethylene-Sulfur Copolymers",
  "title_text": "When Ethylene Meets Sulfur: Direct Synthesis of Minimal Ethylene-Sulfur Copolymers",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cx1pye6wg6zdq",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}