One‐Pot Catalytic Approaches: Building a New Toolbox for Macromolecular Design

One‐pot processes have emerged as a powerful strategy in (macro)molecular synthesis: integrating a multicatalytic process maximizes efficiency, reduces waste, improves profitability, and provides versatile tools for designing of more sustainable processes without compromising selectivity and activity. This review article provides a critical overview of the application of one‐pot transformations in polymerization, with the goal of synthesizing polymers with tailored structures and functions for a wide range of applications. Recent advances in one‐pot polymerization techniques are highlighted, including examples from controlled polymerization methods such as atom transfer radical polymerization, reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization, and ring‐opening polymerization, among others. Special emphasis is placed on the design and optimization of reaction conditions, catalyst systems, and monomer combinations to achieve precise control over polymer structure and functionality. One‐pot processes make it possible to produce sustainable polymeric materials with advanced properties from renewable feedstocks in an extremely simplified manner. Among these materials, functionalized (co)polymers are unique structures that can exhibit a wide range of properties. While their multi‐step synthesis remains a challenging process, one‐pot synthesis of these polymers is much more scalable and can produce innovative copolymers with a wide range of properties. These approaches then provide access to materials whose structure and functionality can be tailored to meet specific needs.