o‐Phthalaldehyde is, to this day, the only aromatic aldehyde that can be homopolymerized through chain‐growth polymerization. The product, polyphthalaldehyde (PPA), is a brittle white solid, and, having a polyacetal main chain, presents the ability to depolymerize quite rapidly in the presence of an acid. This review highlights the unique polymerization chemistry of o‐phthalaldehyde since its discovery over half a century ago, describing the different methods for the preparation of PPA and its derivatives, how the polymerization chemistry affects the structure and thermomechanical properties of the obtained PPA, and summarizes recent developments in PPA chemistry as a responsive material. Modern material applications such as the use of PPA as photoresists or in thermal‐scanning probe lithography, as well as exploration of judiciously end‐capped PPA for its use as self‐immolative materials are summarized. In addition, the use of PPA blocks in copolymers is described, leading to the development of films with well‐defined nanochannels or nanopores that can serve as a template for the preparation of the microorganization of nanomaterials.

中文翻译：

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聚苯二醛：合成，衍生物和应用

迄今为止，邻苯二甲醛是唯一可以通过链增长聚合均聚的芳族醛。产物聚苯二甲醛（PPA）是一种脆性白色固体，具有聚缩醛主链，具有在酸存在下相当快地解聚的能力。这篇综述着重介绍了o的独特聚合化学‐乙醛自半个多世纪前被发现以来，描述了制备PPA及其衍生物的不同方法，聚合化学如何影响所得PPA的结构和热机械性能，并概述了PPA化学作为响应材料的最新进展。总结了现代材料的应用，例如将PPA用作光致抗蚀剂或在热扫描探针光刻中使用，以及探索明智地封端的PPA用作自焚材料。此外，还描述了在共聚物中使用PPA嵌段，从而导致开发了具有明确定义的纳米通道或纳米孔的薄膜，这些薄膜可以用作制备纳米材料的微结构的模板。