ABSTRACT Ultra‐high molecular weight (UHMW) polymers possess distinctive mechanical properties including but not limited to high wear resistance, strong creep and stress relaxation resistance, excellent thermal stability, and outstanding chemical resistance. These make UHMW polymers indispensable in demanding fields such as biomedical implants and advanced military protective materials. Consequently, the synthesis of UHMW polymers continues to be a major research priority in polymer chemistry, driving innovations in advanced material development. Recent advances focus on developing new catalytic systems and expanding the application horizon of UHMW polymers. Some precisely designed late‐transition‐metal complexes and organocatalysts can achieve controlled synthesis of UHMW polyolefins, poly(methyl methacrylate), and polyacrylonitrile under mild conditions. Meanwhile, some novel polymerization techniques including stereoselective coordination polymerization and regulated living/controlled radical polymerization enable the achievement of polymer architectures with ultra‐high molecular weight and narrow dispersity. The ongoing research promotes the functional application of UHMW polymers, driving their deployment in high‐strength fibers for next‐generation composites. The review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest polymerization methodologies and synthetic strategies for UHMW polymers, along with insights into their diverse applications.
Zhang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.