Recent Advances in the Research of Chromatographic Separation Materials Based on Click Chemistry

Since Nobel Laureate K. B. Sharpless first introduced the concept of click chemistry in 2001, such reactions have become a powerful modular synthesis tool. Click chemistry reactions have rapidly expanded into many scientific fields, such as materials and life science, owing to their distinct advantages, which include mild conditions, fast reaction rates, high yields, low by-product generation, and simple separation and purification procedures. Nowadays, click chemistry reactions have become an essential means of designing and preparing separation materials; thus, interest in this synthetic technique has quickly grown. Here, the development of click chemistry and its unique advantages are briefly described firstly. The reports on click chemistry-based chromatographic separation materials published in the past five years are then systematically reviewed, focusing on two major separation fields: column chromatography and membrane chromatography. Meanwhile, recent advances in the separation materials obtained from three common types of click reactions, namely, azido-alkyne, thiol-alkene, and thiol-alkyne, are summarized. Finally, an outlook on the future of click chemistry is provided in developing efficient chromatographic separation materials.