A central challenge in polymer development lies in the dilemma between the inherent limitations of each polymer and the diverse requirements for material properties and functionalities in practical applications. Developing new methods to introduce functional groups into polymer backbones could innovatively evolve the way of endowing commodity polymers with new properties. Herein, inspired by the new generation of click chemistry, sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange (SuFEx), we found that SuFEx click chemistry can be effectively bridged with photocatalytic hydrogen atom transfer post-modification of polymers to introduce clickable sulfonyl fluoride groups, thus forging a facile and useful platform for the functionalization, transformation, and diversification of commodity polymers.
Zhang et al. (Mon,) studied this question.