Dendrimer-like star polymers: Amplification of dendrimer properties, structural conformation and hydrodynamic volume

Four series of three generations of dendrimer-like star polymers were prepared. The hydrodynamic volumes, obtained from size exclusion chromatography (SEC) measurements, were smaller that their linear analogs, and this deviation from the linear behavior was exacerbated with both higher generation number and molecular weight. The increase in dendritic generation results in an increase in the hydrodynamic volume, but does not produce a polymer which significantly deviates from a star conformation. An increase in dendritic generation coupled with an increase in molecular weight produces architecture which are considerably more space-filled than a star shaped architecture.