Sulfur-containing polymers prepared via the inverse vulcanization technique have attracted considerable attention due to the feasibility of the method to produce stable polysulfides with up to 50–90 wt% of sulfur and their wide range of applications from Li–S batteries to catalysis, self-healing and optical materials. Despite many applications, the development of new advanced materials using sulfur is still in the initial stage. Herein, we reported the preparation and processing of a porous sulfur foam for low thermal conductivity applications by combining inverse vulcanization and template removal techniques. Initially, water-soluble template-embedded cross-linked polysulfides were prepared and hot-pressed to the required shape and size. Later, pores were generated by dissolving the template in water. The porosity of the foam was altered by varying the particle size of template materials. The effects of the templates on the porosity and morphology were discussed and correlated with thermal conductivity. The sulfur foam with a smaller pore size and high porosity showed significant decrease in the thermal conductivity up to ～0.032 W m ~(?1) K ~(?1) at 25 °C, which was much lower than that of pristine sulfur (0.205 W m ~(?1) K ~(?1) ). The present method offers flexibility to modify the foam structure and properties during preparation and processing.
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机译：通过逆硫化技术制备的含硫聚合物已经引起了相当大的关注，这是因为该方法可生产含硫量高达50-90 wt％的稳定多硫化物，并且其在Li-S电池到催化，自-修复和光学材料。尽管有许多应用，使用硫磺开发新的先进材料仍处于起步阶段。在这里，我们报道了通过逆硫化和模板去除技术相结合的低热导率应用的多孔硫泡沫的制备和加工。首先，制备水溶性模板包埋的交联多硫化物并热压至所需的形状和大小。后来，通过将模板溶解在水中产生毛孔。通过改变模板材料的粒径来改变泡沫的孔隙率。讨论了模板对孔隙率和形态的影响，并将其与热导率相关。孔径较小，孔隙率较高的硫泡沫在25°C时高达〜0.032 W m〜（？1）K〜（？1）时，导热系数显着降低，远低于原始硫（ 0.205 W m〜（？1）K〜（？1））。本方法提供了在制备和加工过程中改变泡沫结构和性能的灵活性。
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