Click Polymerization: Progresses, Challenges, and Opportunities

Chemical transformations of small molecules have served as a rich source of reactions for the development of new polymerization processes, and “click” reaction has the potential to become a powerful polymerization technique. We herein give a brief account of the research efforts devoted to the development of click reaction into a new polymerization process. Remarkable progresses have been made in recent years in the exploration of metal-mediated and metal-free click polymerization systems and in the syntheses of linear and hyperbranched polytriazoles with regioregular molecular structures and advanced functional properties. We also discuss the existing limitations and challenges as well as the promising opportunities and directions in fostering the click polymerization into a versatile tool for the construction of new macromolecules with well-defined structures and multifaceted functionalities.