Polymerizations based on triple-bond building blocks

Development of new polymerizations based on triple-bond building blocks has received considerable research attention, from which polymers with unique structures and advanced functions can be generated. In this review, we summarize the research efforts on using alkynes and nitrogen-containing triple bonds as building blocks to prepare polymers with linear and topological structures since 2010. The metathesis polymerization and polyaddition of mono- and di-substituted acetylenes, the Cu(I)-catalyzed and metal-free azide-alkyne click polymerization, the thiol-yne click polymerization, polycyclotrimerization of diynes, and the polymerizations based on cyanide and isocyanide monomers are discussed in detail. Moreover, the unique stoichiometric imbalanced polymerization based on alkynes is also briefly introduced. The functions and applications of polymers, produced from these developed polymerization reactions, such as aggregation-induced emission, self-healing, fluorescent patterning, liquid crystal, fluorescence sensing, explosive detection, chiral catalysis and gas permeability are also reviewed.