Helical Polymers: From Precise Synthesis to Structures and Functions

Helices are ubiquitous in Nature and play indispensable roles in biological systems. A helix with an excess of one-handed helicity can be optically active because left- and right-handed helices are nonsuperimposable enantiomers. Stimulated by natural helices and their broad applications as chiral materials, artificial helical polymers have long been a hot research topic. Here, we describe recent advances in the controlled synthesis, structures, and functions of artificial helical polymers over the past decades. The main topics of this review include the controlled synthesis of one-handed static helical polymers through asymmetric polymerization and helix-sense-selective polymerization strategies and the precise fabrication of one-handed preferred dynamic helices via helix induction and memory. The remarkable progress in the applications of helical polymers in enantiomer separation, asymmetric catalysis, chiral self-assembly, and circularly polarized luminescence is then systematically summarized. Finally, the remaining challenges and future perspectives in the research areas of artificial helical polymers and related chiral materials are discussed.