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Synthesis of Dendrimer-Like Polymers

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Anionic Polymerization

Abstract

This chapter reviews the synthesis of dendrimer-like polymers based on controlled or living polymerization techniques. Dendrimer-like polymers possess multiple chains interconnected in a dendritic way. The synthetic strategies include divergent and convergent methods, as those for regular dendrimers, in combination with the preparation of the polymer chains either in situ or in separate batches. The divergent approach usually starts from a core with multifunctional initiation or coupling reaction sites, followed by iterative polymerization/chain-end functionalization, or grafting-to reaction/end-group transformation of the upcoming polymer chains, respectively, to form dendrimer-like polymers of up to seventh generation. The convergent approach involves efficient coupling reactions, such as reaction between chlorosilane and living polymeric anion, and the reactivation of the joint point into living anion in an alternating way. The latter suffers from more serious steric hindrance than the former. A variety of dendrimer-like polymers, such as poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), polystyrene (PS), poly(meth)acrylates, polycaprolactone (PCL), and their related copolymers, have been reported in the literature. The control of molecular parameters of dendrimer-like products will be discussed in the synthetic point of view.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 20674008, 21074024 & 21474016) and the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (20100071110013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Macromolecular Science, The State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Collaborative Innovation Center of Polymers and Polymer Composite Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China

    Junpo He, Jia Li & Shaohui Yang

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  1. Junpo He
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  2. Jia Li
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Correspondence to Junpo He .

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  1. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Nikos Hadjichristidis

  2. Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan

    Akira Hirao

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He, J., Li, J., Yang, S. (2015). Synthesis of Dendrimer-Like Polymers. In: Hadjichristidis, N., Hirao, A. (eds) Anionic Polymerization. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54186-8_15

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