Recent Progress on Controlled Polymerizations for Functional Metallopolymers

Metallopolymers with precise structures and particular properties have emerged as promising functional materials. The applications of metallopolymers depend on the unique characteristics of the metal centers (such as electronic, optical, magnetic, redox, etc.) and the superior mechanical and processing performances of classical polymers. Access to accurately design metallopolymers with well-defined structures and chemical compositions has enabled researchers to detailedly investigate their performances and a series of advanced applications. Along with the rapid development of modern synthetic chemistry and polymerization techniques, various functional metallopolymers have been synthesized largely and have shown many potential applications. Especially, controlled polymerizations, including ATRP, RAFT, ROMP, living anionic polymerization, and so on, are currently attracting considerable attention for the synthesis of well-defined metallopolymers. These polymerizations have become versatile and powerful synthetic tools, which enable the synthesis of new metallopolymers with accurately controlled molecular weight, relatively narrow molecular weight distribution, composition (block, graft, alternating gradient copolymers), and various functionalities. In this review, we highlight the most recent progress on the controlled synthesis of various well-defined metallopolymers.