Dendronized Polymers: Recent Progress in Synthesis

Abstract

This article divides the synthetic routes leading to dendronized polymers into two main categories (attach‐to and macromonomer) and compares their respective advantages and disadvantages. It gives a comprehensive overview on the kind of structures presently available and also spans the bridge between both polymers and molecular objects, decorated with only a few dendrons, and the structurally related, but less well defined polymers with hyperbranched side chains.

New methodologies in the construction of dendritic materials

“…17 Polymerization techniques that have been used are step-growth polymerization, polycondensation/polyaddition, Suzuki polycondensations, free-radical polymerization, anionic-and cationic polymerization, ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP), atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and reversible addition fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT). 24 The latter mentioned controlled polymerization procedures, anionic-and cationic polymerization, ROMP, ATRP and RAFT, allow controlled degrees of polymerization (DP) as well as low polydispersity index (PDI) and control over the end-groups of the linear polymer.…”

“…18 However, it is doubtful if the resulting dendronized polymer in truth behaves like a rod-like polymer, taking on a stretched out conformation, or if this polymer instead will form a random coil. 24 In the graft-to and graft-from approaches, a functionalized linear polymer is utilized to which dendrons are coupled, either by step-wise divergent growth from the linear polymer (graft-from) or convergently, by the coupling of pre-made dendrons to the linear polymeric backbone (graft-to). 16 In this approach, polymerization of a linear polymer is first performed and the resulting linear polymer contains functional groups along its back-bone that are designed to react with the A-functionality of the AB x -monomers (for the graft-from route) or the focal point of the pre-made dendrons (for the graft-to route).…”

Synthesis and characterization of linear dendritic homo and copolymers acrylated behera amine

“…Thus, detailed reviews were published by different groups. [1][2][3][4] Within the studies in the literature, generally comparisons of theoretical and experimental results were made with respect to the topographies of dendritic structures, the amount of dendron on the polymer chain, and their generation on the polymer chain. [5] Characteristics of co-polymers are reflections of monomer composition.…”

Statistical properties of linear-hyperbranched graft copolymers prepared via “hypergrafting” of ABm monomers from linear B-functional core chains: A molecular dynamics simulation

“…Dendronized polymers have a linear backbone decorated with dendritic side chains [36][37][38], which gives them a cylindrical shape. While they are interesting macromolecular objects, their production is as cumbersome as that of dendrimers.…”