Breaking the hydrophilic limitation of polyphenylene sulfide through the introduction of bulky polar monomers

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is widely used in electrical accessories, instrument parts, dust filter materials, and separation membranes, but its hydrophobicity restricts its applications, especially in biomaterials and medical devices. To endow PPS with hydrophilicity from molecular structure, here a strategy is proposed of linking bulky polar monomers to the main chain of the PPS by copolymerization. Although the polarity and bulkiness of the monomers can collaboratively promote the hydrophilicity of PPS, they have opposite effects on improving the thermal properties of PPS. Meanwhile, these monomers did not alter the semi-crystalline nature of PPS. The synthesized PPS copolymers have water contact angles ranging from 68 to 86° (Neat-PPS, ∼100°). The greater the polarity and bulkiness of the monomers, the lower the water contact angle of the copolymers. Moreover, the best hydrophilic copolymer combines structural stability and cytocompatibility. Importantly, it is more conducive to cell adhesion than Neat-PPS. The improved hydrophilicity of PPS copolymers can be harvested for bone scaffold materials and broaden the application of PPS in bone biomaterials.