Responsive Dynamic Covalent Polymers

• Published in: Dynamic Covalent Chemistry p. 1
• Main Authors: Mukherjee, Soma, Cash, Jessica J, Sumerlin, Brent S
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United Kingdom John Wiley & Sons 2018; John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated; John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
• Subjects: Chemistry & Chemical Engineering; chemo‐responsive polymers; General References; mechano‐responsive polymers; photo‐responsive polymers; responsive dynamic covalent polymers; stimuli‐responsive materials; thermoresponsive polymers
• ISBN: 1119075637; 9781119075639
• DOI: 10.1002/9781119075738.ch8

This chapter gives an overview of stimuli‐responsive polymers with reversible characteristics and their numerous applications, focusing on the recent developments in dynamic covalent polymers and briefly touching on dynamic solvent‐solute interactions. Some excellent reviews have covered the development of stimuli‐responsive materials with or without reversible bonds with emphasis on their prospective applications. Temperature‐responsive polymers have received a great deal of interest for various biomedical and bioengineering applications. The ability of a polymeric material to respond to a change in temperature can arise due to either a volume phase transition at a critical solution temperature or the presence of a thermally labile linkage (e.g., nitroxide, reversible Diels‐Alder linkages) in the polymer. The chapter presents relevant examples of commonly employed thermoreversible linkages of both kinds. pH‐responsive behavior in polymeric material could arise from the presence of ionizable weakly acidic or basic functional groups such as –COOH, –NR 2 or acid‐/base‐labile linkages.