Dynamic Covalent Polymer Networks: A Molecular Platform for Designing Functions beyond Chemical Recycling and Self-Healing

Dynamic covalent polymer networks (DCPN) have historically attracted attention for their unique roles in chemical recycling and self-healing, which are both relevant for sustainable societal development. Efforts in these directions have intensified in the past decade with notable progress in newly discovered dynamic covalent chemistry, fundamental material concepts, and extension toward emerging applications including energy and electronic devices. Beyond that, the values of DCPN in discovering/designing functional properties not offered by classical thermoplastic and thermoset polymers have recently gained traction. In particular, the dynamic bond exchangeability of DCPN has shown unparalleled design versatility in various areas including shape-shifting materials/devices, artificial muscles, and microfabrication. Going beyond this basic bond exchangeability, various molecular mechanisms to manipulate network topologies (topological transformation) have led to opportunities to program polymers, with notable concepts such as living networks and topological isomerization. In this review, we provide an overview of the above progress with particular focuses on molecular design strategies for the exploitation of functional material properties. Based on this, we point out the remaining issues and offer perspectives on how this class of materials can shape the future in ways that are complementary with classical thermoplastic and thermoset polymers.