Zeolite Molecular Sieve 4Å: A Reusable Catalyst for Fast and Efficient Conversion of Epoxides to Thiiranes with Thiourea

The Application of 4Å Molecular Sieves in Organic Chemical Syntheses: An Overview

In the last two decades, considerable attention has been devoted to the use of 4Å molecular sieves (MS 4A) in organic chemical syntheses. Initially, they were applied as drying agents in order to dry gases, solvents and liquid reagents. Nowadays, there is a growing tendency to apply MS 4A as an additive, catalyst, co-catalyst or catalyst support in organic reactions. In this review, we aim to summarize the recent examples of organic syntheses promoted by MS 4A from 1997 to 2020. We hope to provide the reader with an overview of the potential of MS 4A in the field of organic synthesis.

1 Introduction

2 Application as an Additive

3 Application as Catalyst

4 Application as Co-catalyst

5 Application as Support

6 Conclusion

Anionic Copolymerization of Styrene Sulfide with Elemental Sulfur (S8)

The superior ability of thiiranes (episulfides) to undergo ring-opening polymerization (ROP) in the presence of anionic initiators allows the preparation of chemically stable polysulfide homopolymers. Incorporation of elemental sulfur (S₈) by copolymerization below the floor temperature of S₈ permits the placement of a large quantity of sulfur atoms in the polysulfide mainchain. The utility of styrene sulfide (2-phenylthiirane; StS) for copolymerization with elemental sulfur is reported here. A few polysulfides differing depending on the initial ratio of S₈ to StS and copolymerization time were synthesized. Various spectroscopic methods (¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, Raman spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy) were applied to characterize the chemical structure of the copolymers. Additionally, the phase structure and thermal stability of the synthesized polysulfides were investigated using DSC and TGA, respectively. The successful anionic copolymerization of styrene sulfide and elemental sulfur has been demonstrated.