The Hantzsch Reaction in Polymer Chemistry: From Synthetic Methods to Applications

Abstract The Hantzcsh reaction is a robust four‐component reaction for the efficient generation of 1,4‐dihydropyridine (1,4‐DHP) derivatives. Recently, this reaction has been introduced into polymer chemistry in order to develop polymers having 1,4‐DHP structures in the main and/or side chains. The 1,4‐DHP groups confer new properties/functions to the polymers. This mini‐review summarizes the recent studies on the development of new functional polymers by using the Hantzsch reaction. Several synthetic approaches, including polycondensation, post‐polymerization modification (PPM), monomer to polymer strategy, and one‐pot strategy are introduced; different applications (protein conjugation, formaldehyde detection, drug carrier, and anti‐bacterial adhesion) of the resulting polymers are emphasized. Meanwhile, the future development of the Hantzsch reaction in exploring new functional polymers is also discussed.