This review reports the recent advances in the most important and straightforward synthetic protocols for incorporating catechols into (bio)polymers, and discusses the emerging applications of these innovative multifunctional materials in biomedical, energy storage and environmental applications. In the last five years, new well-defined polymer structures with tuneable composition and functionality were introduced by the careful combination of catechol protection/deprotection chemistry with controlled polymerization techniques. These new synthetic pathways have facilitated the optimal design of the material that perfectly fits the target application. Although most current researches exploit the adhesive properties of catechols for designing glues or (multi)functional coatings, recent breakthroughs have shown that catechols have much more to offer in other areas, especially those where they act as reversible redox units to store electrons/metal cations for the design of “next-generation” safe, economical and sustainable energy storage devices. These emerging applications of potential high impact in our daily life are now discussed in this review together with the new synthetic routes to unprecedented precise catechol-bearing polymers. Additional objectives of this review are to discuss some important critical issues regarding the stability and reactivity of catechols, and to propose our vision for the future development of this field.

这篇综述报告了将邻苯二酚掺入（生物）聚合物中最重要，最直接的合成方法的最新进展，并讨论了这些创新的多功能材料在生物医学，能量存储和环境应用中的新兴应用。在过去的五年中，通过将邻苯二酚保护/脱保护化学与可控聚合技术进行了精心的结合，推出了具有可调节的组成和功能的，定义明确的新聚合物结构。这些新的合成途径促进了完全适合目标应用的材料的优化设计。尽管目前大多数研究都利用邻苯二酚的粘合性能来设计胶水或（多功能）涂料，最近的突破表明，邻苯二酚在其他领域可以提供更多的优势，尤其是在可逆氧化还原单元中，它们存储电子/金属阳离子以设计“下一代”安全，经济和可持续的储能设备。现在，本文将对这些可能对我们的日常生活产生巨大影响的新兴应用以及合成合成空前精确的含邻苯二酚的聚合物的新途径进行讨论。这项审查的其他目标是讨论有关儿茶酚的稳定性和反应性的一些重要关键问题，并提出我们对该领域未来发展的愿景。经济和可持续的储能设备。现在，本文将对这些可能对我们的日常生活产生巨大影响的新兴应用以及合成合成空前精确的含邻苯二酚的聚合物的新途径进行讨论。这项审查的其他目标是讨论有关儿茶酚的稳定性和反应性的一些重要关键问题，并提出我们对该领域未来发展的愿景。经济和可持续的储能设备。现在，本文将对这些可能对我们的日常生活产生巨大影响的新兴应用以及合成合成空前精确的含邻苯二酚的聚合物的新途径进行讨论。这项审查的其他目标是讨论有关儿茶酚的稳定性和反应性的一些重要关键问题，并提出我们对该领域未来发展的愿景。