An introduction to the principles and fundamentals of CO2-switchable polymers and polymer colloids

In recent years carbon dioxide has emerged as a new and innovative “trigger” for stimuli-responsive materials. In addition to being abundant, inexpensive, nontoxic and environmentally benign, CO2 does not accumulate in a system upon repeated cycles. Among the new CO2-switchable materials that have been developed, polymer-based materials are of particular interest. In this paper we first present the fundamental principles of CO2-switchability, and then provide examples of applying the chemistry of CO2 switching to the preparation of CO2-switchable polymers and polymer nanoparticles. We intend to provide the reader with sufficient background on CO2-switchability to facilitate the synthesis of CO2-switchable polymers in their own research, including the design of new materials with novel properties enabled by CO2 switching.

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