From health supplement to versatile monomer: Radical ring-opening polymerization and depolymerization of α-lipoic acid

The radical ring-opening polymerization (rROP) of α-lipoic acid (LA) and its derivatives represents a synthetically accessible, efficient, and scalable strategy to impart degradability into functional copolymers. This review highlights recent advances in the design of sustainable materials containing LA through rROP driven by heat and/or light.