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1. Copolymerization of an aryl halide and elemental sulfur as a route to high sulfur content materials

   https://doi.org/10.1039/c9py01706b  

   Karunarathna, Menisha S.; Lauer, Moira K.; Tennyson, Andrew G.; Smith, Rhett C. (March 2020, Polymer Chemistry)

   null (Ed.)

   High sulfur-content materials (HSMs) have been investigated for a plethora of applications owing to a combination of desirable properties and the low cost of waste sulfur as a starting monomer. Whereas extended sulfur catenates are unstable with respect to orthorhombic sulfur (S 8 rings) at STP, oligomeric/polymeric sulfur chains can be stabilized when they are confined in a supporting matrix. The vast majority of reported HSMs have been made by inverse vulcanization of sulfur and olefins. In the current case, a radical aryl halide–sulfur polymerization (RASP) route was employed to form an HSM ( XS81 ) by copolymerizing elemental sulfur with the xylenol derivative 2,4-dimethyl-3,5-dichlorophenol (DDP). XS81 is a composite of which 81 wt% is sulfur, wherein the sulfur is distributed between cross-linking chains averaging four sulfur atoms in length and trapped sulfur that is not covalently attached to the network. XS81 (flexural strength = 2.0 MPa) exhibits mechanical properties on par with other HSMs prepared by inverse vulcanization. Notably, XS81 retains mechanical integrity over many heat-recast cycles, making it a candidate for facile recyclability. This is the first report of an HSM comprising stabilized polymeric sulfur that has been successfully prepared from a small molecular comonomer by RASP. Preparation of XS81 thus demonstrates a new route to access HSMs using small molecular aryl halides, a notable expansion beyond the olefins required for the well-studied inverse vulcanization route to HSMs from small molecular comonomers. 

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2. Diverse Sulfuriferula spp. from sulfide mineral weathering environments oxidize ferrous iron and reduced inorganic sulfur compounds

   https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.00216-25  

   Hobart, Kathryn K; Walker, Gabriel M; Feinberg, Joshua M; Bailey, Jake V; Jones, Daniel S (July 2025, Applied and Environmental Microbiology)

   Spear, John R (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT Microorganisms are important catalysts for the oxidation of reduced inorganic sulfur compounds. One environmentally important source of reduced sulfur is metal sulfide minerals that occur in economic mineral deposits and mine waste. Previous research found thatSulfuriferulaspp. were abundant and active in long-term weathering experiments with simulated waste rock and tailings from the Duluth Complex, Northern Minnesota. We, therefore, isolated several strains ofSulfuriferulaspp. from these long-term experiments and characterized their metabolic and genomic properties to provide insight into microbe-mineral interactions and the microbial biogeochemistry in these and other moderately acidic to circumneutral environments. TheSulfuriferulastrains are all obligate chemolithoautotrophs capable of oxidizing inorganic sulfur compounds and ferrous iron. The strains grew over different pH ranges, but all grew between pH 4.5 and 7, matching the weathering conditions of the Duluth Complex rocks. All strains grew on the iron-sulfide mineral pyrrhotite (Fe_{1 −x}S, 0 <x< 0.125) as the sole energy source, as well as hydrogen sulfide and thiosulfate, which are products of sulfide mineral breakdown. Despite their metabolic similarities, each strain encodes a distinct pathway for the oxidation of reduced inorganic sulfur compounds as well as differences in nitrogen metabolism that reveal diverse genomic capabilities among the group. Our results show thatSulfuriferulaspp. are primary producers that likely play a role in sulfide mineral breakdown in moderately acidic to circumneutral mine waste, and the metabolic diversity within the genus may explain their success in sulfide mineral-rich and other sulfidic environments. IMPORTANCEMetal sulfide minerals, such as pyrite and pyrrhotite, are one of the main sources of reduced sulfur in the global sulfur cycle. The chemolithotrophic microorganisms that break down these minerals in natural and engineered settings are catalysts for biogeochemical sulfur cycling and have important applications in biotechnological processes such as biomining and bioremediation.Sulfuriferulais a recently described genus of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria that are abundant primary producers in diverse terrestrial environments, including waste rock and tailings from metal mining operations. In this study, we explored the genomic and metabolic properties of new isolates from this genus, and the implications for their ecophysiology and biotechnological potential in ore and waste from economic mineral deposits. 

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3. Sulfur fertiliser use in the Midwestern US increases as atmospheric sulfur deposition declines with improved air quality

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00662-9  

   Hinckley, Eve-Lyn S.; Driscoll, Charles T. (December 2022, Communications Earth & Environment)

   Abstract Sulfur, as an essential nutrient for plant growth, has increasingly been used in fertiliser applications for many crops. This increase is coincident with declines in atmospheric sulfur deposition in response to air quality improvements in the United States and Europe. Here, we evaluate trends in sulfur fertiliser sales by mass, as a proxy for fertiliser applications, and estimate total atmospheric sulfur deposition across the Midwestern United States. Crop acreage, yield and sulfur fertiliser application substantially increased between 1985 and 2015, coincident with declines in atmospheric sulfur deposition. The increase in sulfur fertiliser has outpaced the relative rate of change in other major nutrient fertilisers including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, by approximately 7-fold prior to 2009, and 29-fold after 2009. We suggest that there is a critical need to develop sulfur management tools that optimize fertiliser applications to maintain crop yields while minimizing the consequences of excess sulfur in the environment. 

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4. The origin of sulfur in Canary Island magmas and its implications for Earth’s deep sulfur cycle

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2416070122  

   Taracsák, Zoltán; Hartley, Margaret E; Burgess, Ray; Edmonds, Marie; Longpré, Marc-Antoine; Monteleone, Brian D; Tartèse, Romain; Turchyn, Alexandra V (March 2025, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   The global sulfur cycle plays a critical role in the redox evolution of Earth’s surface and upper mantle, yet the distribution and origin of sulfur in the mantle remains largely unconstrained. El Hierro is a volcanic island in the Canary archipelago that is fed by sulfur-rich magmas. To constrain the origin of sulfur in these melts, we combine in situ sulfur isotope analyses with regression modeling. We calculate that undegassed El Hierro melts have δ34S values of 0 ± 2‰. The average δ34S of undegassed El Hierro melts is 0.3‰ to 1‰ higher than magmas erupting at mid-ocean ridges. Mass balance calculations reveal that El Hierro’s mantle source contains 310 ± 120 μg/g sulfur and that on average 60% of sulfur in the source is of recycled origin. This recycled material should contain >1,800 μg/g sulfur to satisfy isotopic constraints on its mass fraction in the mantle source. The sulfur and oxygen isotopic signature in serpentinites and sediments deviate significantly from the upper mantle, making them unsuitable candidates for the recycled material. An oxidized partial melt of recycled oceanic crust that retained one third of its sulfur budget after subduction zone processing can explain excess sulfur in the Canary Island mantle. Recycled oceanic crust is expected to contain sulfur as sulfide, which is not capable of oxidizing the mantle. The presence of ferric iron in the recycled component is necessary to produce metasomatic melts that are oxidizing enough to carry sufficient sulfur into the mantle source of ocean island basalts. 

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5. Encapsulation methods of sulfur particles for lithium-sulfur batteries: A review

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ensm.2020.09.005  

   Li, Shiqi; Fan, Zhaoyang (September 2020, Energy storage materials)

   Core-shell structured sulfur composite nanoparticles (NPs) and their various derivatives have been widely inves- tigated as a promising cathode material for Li-S batteries (LSBs) thanks to their unique features in suppressing the lithium polysulfides shuttle effect, accommodating the sulfur electrode volume change, and providing abundant electrochemically active sites. The commonly used infiltration strategy falls short in producing a near ideal core- shell structure. Accordingly, the strategy of encapsulation, in which the prefabricated sulfur or sulfur precursor nanocore is encapsulated by a subsequently formed host shell has attracted broad interest, and this technique has significantly accelerated the LSB development. To advance the state of the art in producing encapsulated sulfur NPs, it becomes necessary to systematically survey the past relevant works and sum up research gaps. This review first takes an excursion to the infiltration strategy to highlight its limitations, followed by surveys on studies of synthesizing sulfur NPs, encapsulating sulfur NPs, and producing encapsulated sulfur NPs from metal sulfides. The strengths and weaknesses of each method, the resulted NPs, their electrochemical properties and the associated LSB performances are particularly emphasized. The rationales to design and the results of applying structural derivatives of the conventional core-shell configuration are then assessed. The encapsulated sulfur NPs applied in aqueous batteries are also discussed. This comprehensive review on sulfur encapsulation is concluded by a summary on further challenges and opportunities as well as our perspectives on possible future research directions, towards fundamental understanding and practical development of encapsulated sulfur NP-based LSB technology. 

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