Room temperature synthesis of polythioamides from multicomponent polymerization of sulfur, pyridine-activated alkyne, and amines

Through the design of a pyridine-activated diyne monomer, the catalyst-free multicomponent polymerizations of sulfur, aromatic alkyne, and a group of commercially available primary and secondary diamines were realized at room temperature or 40 °C, affording functional polythioamides with well-defined structures, high yields (up to 98%), high molecular weights (95 100 g mol^-1), improved mercury removal performance, and interesting photophysical and photochemical properties. This work not only demonstrated an advance in efficient and economic synthesis of polythioamides, but also revealed the structure-property relationship of these promising sulfur-containing polymer materials.