Recent Advances in Radical Polymerization: Strategies for Synthesizing Vinyl Polymers with Decomposition Functions

The deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals（SDGs）is approaching, and realistic and immediate responses are required. In particular, concrete measures to address environmental issues such as microplastics and marine plastics are one of the most urgent issues. In the cutting-edge research field of polymer synthesis, attention is focused on how to impart degradability to conventionally used non-degradable synthetic polymers, and competitive efforts are underway around the world to design molecules and develop reactions to incorporate decomposition functions into molecules at the polymer synthesis stage. In this review, we focus on imparting degradability to vinyl polymers synthesized by radical polymerization. After explaining the basic matters related to the decomposition of vinyl polymers, we introduce degradable polymers using radical ring-opening polymerization and radical copolymerization. Research trends in controlled polymerization and depolymerization are also explained.