Dendronized polymer

Dendrons are regularly-branched, tree-like fragments and for larger ones the polymer backbone is wrapped to give sausage-like, cylindrical molecular objects.

It also provides a concrete chemical structure showing a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) backbone, the methyl group (−CH3) of which is replaced by a dendron of the third generation (three consecutive branching points).

In this regard they differ from the more or less spherically shaped dendrimers, where a few dendrons are attached to a small, dot-like core resulting in an isotropic structure.

[2] Dendronized polymers have been investigated for/as bulk structure control, responsivity to external stimuli, single molecule chemistry, templates for nanoparticle formation, catalysis, electro-optical devices, and bio-related applications.

[6] The first report on such a macromolecule which at that time was called “Rod-shaped Dendrimer” goes back to a patent by Tomalia in 1987[7] and was followed by Percec's first mentioning in the open literature of a polymer with “tapered side chains” in 1992.

cartoon representation of a dendronized polymer
Figure 4. The two main synthetic approaches: The macromonomer route (left) and the attach-to route (right).