Tellurium-containing polymers: Recent developments and trends

Significant progresses have been made in tellurium-containing polymers over the past decades. Just like other heteroatom-containing polymers, tellurium-containing polymers exhibit several unique properties and promising applications. However, unlike elements such as boron, silicon, sulfur and so on, tellurium in polymers remains a fresh perspective for many researchers. In this review, we shall illustrate the diversification of tellurium-containing polymers and their respective synthetic methods. Besides, the properties of tellurium-containing polymers including redox-responsiveness, coordination properties, optoelectronic properties and so on will be discussed in detail. Furthermore, the performances of tellurium-containing polymers in biomedicine, optoelectronic materials and some recent advanced fields will be demonstrated. Overall, by reviewing the recent developments and trends of tellurium-containing polymers, we wish to popularize the concepts and it is anticipated that this review could function as an easy-to-read and comprehensive handbook to provide some inspirations and possible scientific supports for researchers in the field of chemistry and materials.