Styrenic block copolymer‐based thermoplastic elastomers in smart applications: Advances in synthesis, microstructure, and structure–property relationships—A review

Styrenic block copolymers (SBC) have been gaining attention as a specialty material in elastomer and composite industries over an extended period. Its unique segmental architecture, controllable mechanical strength, ease of processing, oxidative, and environmental stability enable versatile applications. SBCs with other unique features like ion-containing blocks, vascular compatibility, and biostability are gaining popularity in several new-age applications. The review mainly displays the new synthetic strategies for SBC having superior thermal and environmental resistance and how their morphologies get affected by the invention of different synthesis and molecular designing technologies. It elaborates prospects and future of SBCs in other innovative application fields like sensors for wearable devices, next-generation proton exchange membranes for fuel cells, portable power sources for electric vehicles, shape memory polymers, and so forth. Its potential in biomedical applications like heart valves, urinary tract devices, coating for coronary stents, implants, and drug delivery applications has also been discussed. It also analyses structure properties relationship which affects their performance in these fields, along with a brief introduction about the history of invention.