Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and Russell-Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000, Israel.
Macromol Rapid Commun. 2018 Jan;39(2). doi: 10.1002/marc.201700519. Epub 2017 Nov 6.
o-Phthalaldehyde is, to this day, the only aromatic aldehyde that can be homopolymerized through chain-growth polymerization. The product, polyphthalaldehyde (PPA), is a brittle white solid, and, having a polyacetal main chain, presents the ability to depolymerize quite rapidly in the presence of an acid. This review highlights the unique polymerization chemistry of o-phthalaldehyde since its discovery over half a century ago, describing the different methods for the preparation of PPA and its derivatives, how the polymerization chemistry affects the structure and thermomechanical properties of the obtained PPA, and summarizes recent developments in PPA chemistry as a responsive material. Modern material applications such as the use of PPA as photoresists or in thermal-scanning probe lithography, as well as exploration of judiciously end-capped PPA for its use as self-immolative materials are summarized. In addition, the use of PPA blocks in copolymers is described, leading to the development of films with well-defined nanochannels or nanopores that can serve as a template for the preparation of the microorganization of nanomaterials.
邻苯二甲醛至今仍是唯一能通过链式增长聚合进行均聚合的芳香醛。产物聚邻苯二甲醛（PPA）是一种易碎的白色固体，由于具有聚缩醛主链，在酸存在下会迅速解聚。本综述重点介绍了半个多世纪前发现邻苯二甲醛独特的聚合化学，描述了制备 PPA 及其衍生物的不同方法，聚合化学如何影响所得 PPA 的结构和热机械性能，并总结了 PPA 化学作为响应性材料的最新进展。总结了现代材料应用，例如将 PPA 用作光致抗蚀剂或在热扫描探针光刻中的应用，以及探索明智地端封 PPA 作为自耗蚀材料的应用。此外，还描述了 PPA 嵌段在共聚物中的应用，导致具有明确定义的纳米通道或纳米孔的薄膜的开发，这些纳米通道或纳米孔可用作制备纳米材料微观组织的模板。
