Oral Presentation Royal Australian Chemical Institute National Congress 2026

Materials Innovation for the Excess Sulfur Problem (136616)

Justin M. Chalker 1
  1. College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, Australia

Nearly 85 million tonnes of sulfur are produced each year in petroleum refining. While some of this sulfur is used to make sulfuric acid, vulcanised rubber, and fertilisers, >10 million tonnes of excess sulfur are produced each year. This unused sulfur is stored in extremely large above ground deposits; some of these deposits are among the largest structures ever made by humans. This excess sulfur can lead to acid leaching, malodorous off gas, and structural collapse that threatens the environment and human health. There is an opportunity to develop new reactions and processing techniques to convert this waste sulfur into value-added materials. In this presentation, I will discuss several strategies to convert sulfur into polymers and materials with diverse uses such as recyclable plastics,1 low-cost lenses for thermal imaging,2 novel optical and information storage devices,3 recyclable gold sorbents e-waste recycling,4,5 and de-bondable adhesives.6 Several new reactions and processing techniques will be examined which support expanded use of sulfur-rich materials in high value and scalable applications that support diverse industries.

  1. H.D. Patel, A.D. Tikoalu, J.N. Smith, Z. Pei, R. Shapter, S.J. Tonkin, P. Yan., W.M. Bloch, M.R. Johnston, J. Harmer, C.T. Gibson, M.V. Perkins, M.L. Coote, Z. Jia, J.M. Chalker, Nature Chemistry, 2026, accepted. Preprint: ChemRxiv DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-fnhdd.
  2. S.J. Tonkin, H.D. Patel, J.M.M. Pople, L.N. Pham, D.J. Lewis, B.A. Aljubran, J.R. Gascooke, C.T. Gibson, T. Hewagama, D.E. Jennings, F.T. Ferguson, M.R. Johnston, W.M. Bloch, A.C. Bissember, Z. Jia, M.L. Coote and J.M. Chalker. Nature Communications, 2026, accepted. Preprint: ChemRxiv. 2025, DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-wd224-v2
  3. A.K. Mann, L.S. Lisboa, S.J. Tonkin, J.R. Gascooke, J.M. Chalker, C.T. Gibson. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 23, e202404802
  4. M. Mann, T.P. Nicholls, H.D. Patel, L.S. Lisboa, J.M.M. Pople, L.N. Pham, M.J.H. Worthington, M.R. Smith, Y. Yin, G.G. Andersson, C.T. Gibson, L.J. Esdaile, C.E. Lenehan, M.L. Coote, Z. Jia, and J.M. Chalker. Nature Sustainability, 2025, 8, 947-956.
  5. J.M.M. Pople, T.P. Nicholls, L.N. Pham, W.M. Bloch, L.S. Lisboa, M.V. Perkins, C.T. Gibson, M.L. Coote, Z. Jia, J.M. Chalker. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 11798-11810.
  6. T.P. Nicholls, J.M.M. Pople, M.R. Harvey, H.D. Patel, A.K. Mann, S.J. Tonkin, J.D. Randall, A. Wickramasingha, J.Y.J. Wang, J.C. Robertson, L.N. Pham, J.R. Gascooke, L.C. Henderson, C.T. Gibson, W.M. Bloch, S.J. Fraser-Miller, D.B. Jones, Z. Jia, M.L. Coote, A.C. Bissember, J.M. Chalker J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 46243-46258.