Designing self-propagating polymers with ultrasensitivity through feedback signal amplification. Issue 43 (22nd October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tan, Jiajia; Hu, Jinming; Liu, Shiyong
• Is Part Of: Polymer chemistry. Volume 12:Issue 43(2021)
• Page Start: 6230
• Page End: 6241
• Publication Date: 2021-10-22
• Subjects: Polymers -- Periodicals; Macromolecules -- Periodicals; Polymerization -- Periodicals; 547.705
• DOI: 10.1039/d1py01095f
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1759-9954

Abstract

Abstract : Stimuli-responsive polymers with self-propagating degradation capacity being sensitive to acids, bases, fluoride ions, and hydrogen peroxide are reviewed, exhibiting self-accelerated degradation behavior. Abstract : Inspired by the self-adaptive nature of living organisms, the development of stimuli-responsive polymers that can sense and respond to surrounding microenvironments has received increasing interest. To date, stimuli-responsive polymers have found promising applications in terms of smart coatings, actuators, photolithography, imaging and diagnosis, and so on. Notwithstanding significant progress, it remains a grand challenge to improve the sensitivity of stimuli-responsive polymers toward external stimuli, which is, however, highly desirable in practical applications when the input signals are very weak. To circumvent this problem, self-propagating polymers have been developed, which enable the amplification of input signals in a positive feedback manner, thereby exponentially elevating the sensitivity. In this minireview, we summarize the recent design strategies and potential applications of self-propagating polymers by integrating feedback signal amplification modules, which have shown promising applications ranging from fundamental research to industry.