Continuous Head-to-Tail Depolymerization: An Emerging Concept for Imparting Amplified Responses to Stimuli-Responsive Materials.

Polymers that depolymerize continuously and completely from head-to-tail when a reaction-based detection unit is cleaved from the polymer provide both selective and amplified responses, a rare combination, to stimuli-responsive polymeric materials. This Viewpoint contextualizes this new class of depolymerizable polymers and outlines the key areas for growth and innovation.