Polythiol copolymers with precise architectures: a platform for functional materials

Abstract

The richness of thiol chemistry makes polythiol copolymers versatile building blocks for macromolecular and material engineering. This review presents the different synthetic routes to prepare polythiol copolymers, covering (co)polymerization of protected thiol monomers, (co)polymerization of unprotected thiol monomers and post-polymerization modification. Functionalization of polythiol copolymers using various pathways, such as thiol–ene reaction, thiol-Michael addition, thiol–disulfide exchange and metal–sulfur coordination is also illustrated as well as diverse (bio)applications, including self-healing materials, coatings, thiomers and hydrogels.