Elemental sulfur exists primarily as eight membered rings (S8) in a crystalline state. When heated, it first liquefies, and then
undergoes ring-opening polymerisation (ROP) to form polymeric sulfur of high molecular weight.However, this form is not stable, and it readily depolymerises back to the monomeric S8 rings. It has been recently shown that ‘inverse vulcanisation’ can be used to stabilise sulfur in its polymeric form