Tang, H.; Luan, Y.; Yang, L.; Sun, H. A Perspective on Reversibility in Controlled Polymerization Systems: Recent Progress and New Opportunities. Molecules2018, 23, 2870.
Tang, H.; Luan, Y.; Yang, L.; Sun, H. A Perspective on Reversibility in Controlled Polymerization Systems: Recent Progress and New Opportunities. Molecules 2018, 23, 2870.
Tang, H.; Luan, Y.; Yang, L.; Sun, H. A Perspective on Reversibility in Controlled Polymerization Systems: Recent Progress and New Opportunities. Molecules2018, 23, 2870.
Tang, H.; Luan, Y.; Yang, L.; Sun, H. A Perspective on Reversibility in Controlled Polymerization Systems: Recent Progress and New Opportunities. Molecules 2018, 23, 2870.
Abstract
The field of controlled polymerization is growing and evolving at unprecedented rates, facilitating polymer scientists to engineer the structure and property of polymer materials for a variety of applications. However, the lack of degradability, particularly in vinyl polymers, is a general concern for not only environmental sustainability but also biomedical applications. In recent years, there has been a significant effort to develop reversible polymerization approaches in those well-established controlled polymerization systems. Reversible polymerization typically involves two steps including (i) forward polymerization which converts small monomers into macromolecules, and (ii) depolymerization capable of regenerating original monomers. Furthermore, recycled monomers can be repolymerized into new polymers. In this perspective, we highlight recent developments of reversible polymerization in those controlled polymerization systems and offer insight into the promise and utility of reversible polymerization systems. More importantly, the current challenges and future directions to solve those problems are discussed. We hope this perspective can serve as an “initiator” to promote continuing innovations in this fairly new area.
Chemistry and Materials Science, Organic Chemistry
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
