title: Photochemically Driven Polymeric Network Formation: Synthesis and Applications.
abstract: Polymeric networks have been intensely investigated and a large number of applications have been found in areas ranging from biomedicine to materials science. Network fabrication via light-induced reactions is a particularly powerful tool, since light provides ready access to temporal and spatial control, opening an array of synthetic access routes for structuring the network geometry as well as functionality. Herein, the most recent light-induced modular reactions and their use in the formation of precision polymeric networks are collated. The synthetic strategies including photoinduced thiol-based reactions, Diels-Alder systems, and photogenerated reactive dipoles, as well as photodimerizations, are discussed in detail. Importantly, applications of the fabricated networks via the aforementioned reactions are highlighted with selected examples. Concomitantly, we provide future directions for the field, emphasizing the most critically required advances.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Technische Chemie und Polymerchemie, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Engesserstr. 18, 76128, Karlsruhe, Germany.|Institut für Biologische Grenzflächen, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blasco
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Physics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Wolfgang-Gaede-Straße 1, 76128, Karlsruhe, Germany.|Institute of Nanotechnology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wegener
authors.affiliation: Institut für Technische Chemie und Polymerchemie, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Engesserstr. 18, 76128, Karlsruhe, Germany.|Institut für Biologische Grenzflächen, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.|School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barner-Kowollik
keywords: applications; photochemistry; precision networks