Chapter 9: Fused (Hetero)Cyclic Polymers Synthesized by Alkyne-Based Polymerizations

Fused (hetero)cyclic polymers are an important group of functional materials with unique electrochemical and photophysical properties. They are in great demand in high-tech applications such as organic electronics and advanced optical devices. Alkyne-based polymerizations have been found to be a powerful tool for the synthesis of fused (hetero)cyclic polymers. The fused (hetero)cyclic units can form in situ in the polymer backbones during the polymerizations. In this chapter, the progress in the synthesis of fused (hetero)cyclic polymers by alkyne-based polymerizations will be summarized, including the homopolymerizations of acetylenic monomers, stoichiometric polyannulations of internal diynes and aromatics, non-stoichiometric polyannulations of internal diynes and monofunctional aromatics, and multicomponent acetylenic polymerizations. Meanwhile, the properties and functionalities of the produced fused (hetero)cyclic polymers, such as thermal and morphological stability, light refraction and chromatic dispersion, photoluminescent properties, fluorescent chemosensor, external stimuli-responsive materials, etc., will also be discussed.