‘Click’ Chemistry in Polyurethanes: From Design to Applications

Polyurethanes (PU) are one of the most commercially relevant classes of polymers with a vast range of applications ranging from biomedicine to high-performance structural materials. This is mainly due to the wide variety of precursors (polyisocyanates and polyols) that can be used for PU synthesis, associated with the high density of intra/intermolecular hydrogen bonding, and microphase separated morphology. Over the past two decades, the versatility and functionality of PU were increased even further by the development of the ‘click chemistry’ concept and several ‘click’ reactions, together with their association with PU chemistry. Therefore, this book chapter covers fundamental concepts associated with ‘click chemistry’ and polyurethanes, going from the concepts of polyurethanes, ‘click’ chemistry and ‘click’ reactions, to strategies employed for the design and production of ‘clickable’ PU, to the applications of click chemistry in PU.