Polymer mechanochemistry on reactive species has attracted more and more
attentions over the past 20 years, as the mechanochemical generation of
reactive species has a great potential in developing different polymeric
materials for various proposes, such as stress detection, self-healing,
self-strengthening, controllable degradation and release of small
molecules. In this review, we first discuss the recent progress on
polymer mechanochemistry of the reactive species that are generated from
the mechanochemical reactions of mechanophores. Five types of reactive
species, including radical, zwitterion, ionic, carbene and neutral
intermediates, and their applications were reviewed in detail. Since
mechanochemical reactions are sensitive to the mechanophore structure
and polymer framework, we then discuss how mechanophore isomerism,
polymer structure, polymer attachment point, and polymer architecture
influence the mechanophore activation. At last, we provide our
perspectives on the polymer mechanochemistry of reactive species.