Novel Resveratrol-Derived\nSulfur-Rich Polymers: Advanced\nMaterials for Silver Capture and High-Performance Lithium–Sulfur\nBattery Cathodes

Organic\npolysulfides have garnered significant attention\nrecently\nas functional materials due to their abundant S–S bonds and\nstrong chemical bonding structures, with potential applications in\nheavy metal adsorption, antimicrobials, and lithium–sulfur\nbatteries. However, the environmental concerns associated with petroleum-based\npolymers and the flammability of sulfur pose challenges for their\napplications. This study describes the successful preparation of an\ninverse vulcanization sulfur-rich polymer using biobased resveratrol\nallyl ether as a copolymerization monomer. The polymer exhibits an\nultrahigh glass transition temperature (<i>T</i><sub>g</sub> = 148 °C) and thermal stability, excellent flame retardancy,\nhighly efficient silver absorption (removal rate >99.9%), outstanding\nsilver-regenerative antimicrobial properties (complete inhibition\nof the growth and propagation of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (<i>S. aureus</i>) and <i>Escherichia coli</i> (<i>E. coli</i>)), as well as excellent specific discharge\ncapacity (1198 mAh g<sup>–1</sup>), cycling performance, and\nrate capability. In situ battery infrared and DFT studies indicate\nthat during the electrochemical redox process, the structure of the\npolymer undergoes a reorganization. The high active sulfur loading\nelectrodes (∼5 mg cm<sup>–2</sup>) are also prepared\nto exhibit a certain practical potential with good discharge capacity\nand capacity retention.