“Clicking” on/with polymers: a rapidly expanding field for the straightforward preparation of novel macromolecular architectures

Abstract

The combination of controlled polymerization techniques and “click” reactions form an efficient platform for the preparation of polymers in various architectures. In this critical review, an update of our 2007 review in Chem. Soc. Rev., we focus on the “click” reactions that have been used widely in the last four years to create new polymer architectures. Not only block copolymers and star-shaped polymers but also cyclic and dendritic macromolecules could be synthesized using these robust “click” reactions (205 references).