Multicomponent Polymerization of Alkynes

Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) are a group of unique reactions with a number of advantages such as atom economy, high efficiency, and simple procedure. These convenient reactions, especially MCRs based on alkyne monomers, are widely studied and extensively reported. However, polymerization methods based on MCRs of alkynes have rarely been developed to benefit the preparation of macromolecules. In this paper, up-to-date progress in the development of multicomponent polymerizations (MCPs) based on alkyne monomers is summarized, including MCP of alkynes, aldehydes and amines; MCP of alkynes, azides and amines/alcohols; and multicomponent tandem polymerization of alkynes, carbonyl chloride and thiols. Efforts in monomer screening, polymerization condition optimization, and structural characterization of the resultant polymer have generated a series of functional polymer materials with fascinating properties such as aggregation-induced/enhanced emission, light refractivity, photopatternability, and magnetism.