Redox active gels: synthesis, structures and applications

Recent years have brought significant advances and developments in the area of redox-responsive polymers. This review outlines major developments that focused on the incorporation of redox responsive components that are covalently attached as pending or crosslinking groups along a polymer backbone. Among the major contestants, ferrocenes, conjugated polymers, tetrathiafulvalene, transition metal ions and disulfide bonds represent major contributions in this field. The unique technological feature of these responsive gels capable of redox stimuli controlled and reversible changes is the ability to tune their shapes, color, solubility, or display sol-to-gel transitions.