Facile approach to polyurea/malonamide dendrons via a selective ring‐opening addition reaction of azetidine‐2,4‐dione

A bifunctional compound [(4‐isocyanato‐4′(3,3‐dimethyl ‐2,4‐dioxo‐acetidino)diphenylmethane] (MIA) has been used as a building block for the synthesis of novel polyurea/malonamide dendrons. This is based on selectively sequential addition reactions of amines to isocyanato‐azetidine‐2,4‐diones. After incorporation of the MIA onto the growing dendrons, rapid entry into polyurea/malonamide dendrons was achieved via a convergent route with the processing advantages of easy purification, high yield, and rapid synthesis. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 682–688, 2005     

Convenient synthesis of fully and partially deuterated stereoregular poly(phenylacetylene)s bearing a carboxy pendant and helicity induction on the polymers with chiral amines and its memory

Poly[(4-carboxyphenyl)acetylene] and its derivatives deuterated in the main chain and/or on the phenyl group (poly- 1 's) were conveniently synthesized by the polymerization of 4-ethynylbenzoic acid or its derivative deuterated on the phenyl group in the presence of bases with a water-soluble rhodium complex in water or deuterium oxide. The obtained polymers possesses highly cis–transoidal stereoregular structures according to NMR and Raman spectroscopy. Possible deuterium isotope effects of these partially and fully deuterated poly- 1 's during the helicity induction with chiral amines and its memory assisted by achiral amines were investigated. The thermal cis–trans isomerization of the methyl esters of poly- 1 's was also studied with ¹H NMR spectroscopy. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4711–4722, 2004     

Synthesis and polymerization of functionalized dendritic macromonomers

The synthesis of dendritic building blocks (dendrons) of the first generation (G1) and the second generation, which carry differently protected amine groups in the periphery, is reported. The dendrons are used for the synthesis of the corresponding acrylic and methacrylic macromonomers. Their polymerization behavior under radical conditions is investigated. The G1 dendronized polymers are decorated at their peripheral amino groups, that is, with the chiral amino acid L -phenylalanine by the attach-to approach. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 1940–1954, 2001     

Effect of pH and generation of dendron on single‐step synthesis of gold nanoparticles using PEGylated polyamidoamine dendron in aqueous medium

Three types of PEGylated polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrons were synthesized through PEGylation of primary amines at the periphery of second, third, and fourth generation dendrons. Au(III) precursors and the synthesized PEGylated PAMAM dendrons were mixed at various pHs to evaluate the effect of pH on gold nanoparticle (Au NP) synthesis by monitoring the change in surface plasmon resonance. The Au NP synthesis reaction was controlled by pH through the balance between protonated and deprotonated tertiary amines and the reactivity of Au(III) precursors. By using PEGylated PAMAM dendrons with higher generation, the obtained Au NPs had narrow size distribution with small average size because of the limitation of intermolecular space among PEGylated PAMAM dendrons for the growth to Au NP. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1391–1398, 2010     

Synthesis of dendritic–linear block copolymers by living ring-opening polymerization of lactones and lactides using dendritic initiators

Polyether dendrons have been successfully used as macroinitiators for the living ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactones and lactides. A hydroxyl group located at the focal point of dendrimers of different generations was transformed into diethyl aluminum alkoxides by reaction with triethyl aluminum. The dendritic aluminum alkoxides proved to be efficient macroinitiators for the living ROP of ε-caprolactone (εCL), 1,4,8-trioxa(4,6)spiro[9]undecanone (TOSUO), D ,L - and L ,L -lactide. Formation of these block copolymers of unusual macromolecular architecture was supported by size exclusion chromatography and spectroscopy. The versatility of this synthetic approach allowed ω-functional dendrimer block-polyesters, such as macromonomer, and macromolecules with novel architectures, to be prepared. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1923–1930, 1999     

Synthesis and opto‐electrical properties of dendron‐containing poly(2,3‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenevinylene) derivatives

A new series of poly(2,3‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenevinylene) derivatives containing dendritic side groups were synthesized. Different generations of dendrons were integrated on the pendant phenyl ring to investigate their effect on optical and electrical properties of final polymers. Homopolymers can not be obtained via the Gilch polymerization because of sterically bulky dendrons. By controlling the feed ratio of different monomers during polymerization, dendron‐containing copolymers with high molecular weights were obtained. The UV–vis absorption and photoluminescent spectra of the thin films are pretty close; however, quantum efficiency is significantly enhanced with increasing the generation of dendrons. The electrochemical analysis reveals that hole‐injection is also improved by increasing dendritic generation. Double‐layer light‐emitting devices with the configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer/Ca/Al were fabricated. High generation dendrons bring benefit of improved device performance. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3440–3450, 2007     

Dendron–polymer conjugates via the diels–alder “click” reaction of novel anthracene‐based dendrons

Diblock and triblock dendron–polymer conjugates containing biodegradable polyester dendron blocks and polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer were synthesized using the Diels–Alder “click” cycloaddition reaction. PEG polymers with furan‐protected maleimide functionality were synthesized and reacted with biodegradable polyester dendrons containing an anthracene moiety at their focal point. First through third generations of biodegradable polyester dendrons containing an anthracene unit at their focal point were synthesized using a divergent strategy. Efficient conjugation of the dendrons to polymers was demonstrated using ¹HNMR and size exclusion chromatography. This modular approach provides an easy access to the design of multivalent PEG conjugates. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 3191–3201     

Synthesis of narrow‐polydispersity degradable dendronized aliphatic polyesters

The divergent dendronization of an ?‐caprolactone‐based polymer has been performed to provide access to dendronized polymers with sufficient biocompatibility and degradability for use as drug‐delivery scaffolds. The synthesis was performed through the tin(II) 2‐ethylhexanoate‐catalyzed polymerization of a γ‐functionalized ?‐caprolactone monomer, followed by the divergent growth of pendant polyester dendrons at each repeat unit. The resulting dendronized polymers were obtained up to the fourth generation with molecular weights as high as 80,000 Da and with polydispersities between 1.11 and 1.22. The fourth‐generation hydroxyl‐terminated dendronized polymer was degradable under a variety of aqueous conditions. A comparison of the dendronization approach with a procedure involving the ring‐opening polymerization of a second‐generation dendritic macromonomer reveals that the former procedure is best suited for the preparation of this family of dendronized polyesters because it requires shorter reaction times and affords materials with higher degrees of polymerization. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 3563–3578, 2004     

Synthesis of optically active polyurethanes by self‐polyaddition of tyrosine‐based monomers

The synthesis and self‐polyaddition of the optically active monomers I‐T(L )‐M and I‐T(D )‐M bearing both isocyanate and hydroxyl groups were examined. I‐T(L )‐M and I‐T(D )‐M were synthesized by reactions of L ‐ and D ‐tyrosine methyl ester, T(L )‐M and T(D )‐M, with di‐tert‐butyltricarbonate, respectively. The self‐polyaddition of I‐T(L )‐M and I‐T(D )‐M proceeded smoothly with triethylamine or tert‐butyllithium as the initiator in tetrahydrofuran, affording the optically active linear polyurethanes poly[I‐T(L )‐M] and poly[I‐T(D )‐M] with specific head‐to‐tail structures, where the number‐average molecular weights ranged from 10,000 to 20,000 in excellent yields. The optical properties suggested the idea that poly[I‐T(L )‐M] and poly[I‐T(D )‐M] should have some higher order structures. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 1143–1153, 2004     

Codendronized polymers pendent with alternating dendritic wedges

Codendronized polymers pendent with Fréchet‐type poly(benzyl ether) dendron and polyester dendron alternating structure have been produced by combining macromonomer and graft‐from approach. Alternating copolymerization of the styryl dendrons of three generations and N‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)maleimide was used to prepare the polymer backbone bearing the first kind of dendritic wedges, then polyester dendrons were grown up from the pendant hydroxy groups through iterative esterification and deprotection reactions. Then, a kind of codendronized polymer bearing different dendritic wedges with an alternating structure was thus obtained. Since the pendent dendrons were different and each of them was well‐defined, such codendronized polymer can be a multicompartment wormlike molecule. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3994–4001, 2007     

Dendronized polystyrene via orthogonal double‐click reactions

Dendronized copolymers bearing two different dendrons as side chains have been synthesized using a modular orthogonal “double‐click” reaction based strategy. The orthogonality of the Huisgen‐type azide‐alkyne cycloaddition and the Diels–Alder reaction was utilized to attach different dendrons to the polymer backbone via the “graft‐to” strategy. First through third generations of polyaryl ether dendrons appended with an alkyne group and polyester dendrons possessing a furan‐protected maleimide group at their focal point were reacted with a styrene based copolymer containing azide and anthracene moieties as side chains. The efficiency and selectivity of the orthogonal dendronization of the copolymers were examined via various analytical methods such as ¹H NMR spectroscopy, FTIR and gel permeation chromatography. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 5029–5037     

Synthesis of chiral helical poly[p-(oligopinanylsiloxanyl)phenylacetylene]s and enantioselective permeability of their membranes

To develop better polymeric materials for optical-resolution membranes, we synthesized nine chiral phenylacetylenes containing pinanyl groups. We used them to investigate the effects of chemical structures, including the number and position of the chiral groups in the monomers, on the induction of chirality in the main chain during polymerization and on the degree of enantioselectivity in the permeation of the polymeric membranes. The monomers included six new chiral p-(oligomethylpinanylsiloxanyl)phenylacetylenes. The homopolymerizations of these nine monomers with a Rh complex produced high-molecular-weight polymers (molecular weight = 10⁵–10⁶). Of the five polymers with a chiral pinanyl group at the 1-position of each oligosiloxanyl group, all except for two polymers showed high molar ellipticity in the main-chain region in the circular dichroism spectra. This finding indicated that these polymers had a chiral helical main chain. The membranes fabricated from all the polymers synthesized in this study were high-quality, except for two polymers. All these membranes showed enantioselective permeabilities for two amino acids and an alcohol. The membranes from the polymers with a chiral helical backbone, a high content of pinanyl groups, no oligodimethylsiloxane moieties, or a combination of these showed good enantioselectivities (= 1.7–640) in permeation. We propose that the sense of the main-chain helicity determined the selectivity. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4502–4517, 2004     

Polyamido amine dendrimers functionalized with poly(phenylenevinylene) dendrons at their periphery

A series of polyamido amine (PAMAM) dendrimers (Generations 2, 3, 4, and 6) fully functionalized at their periphery with first‐ and second‐generation poly (phenylenevinylene) (PPV) dendrons have been efficiently prepared. MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry proved to be particularly useful for the characterization of the new hybrid dendrimers as well as for the estimation of the average number of PPV dendrons attached to the surface. The optical absorption and emission properties of these systems were studied. The materials display extremely high molar extinction coefficients and emit blue light with only slightly lower fluorescence quantum yields than the corresponding free dendrons. Self‐quenching interactions between PPV units were not observed in THF. However, the luminescence properties underwent a dramatic change when toluene was used as the solvent. The lower polarity of toluene caused shrinkage of the PAMAM structure and brought the PPV chromophores closer together, leading to self‐quenching interactions and excimer formation. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 6409–6419, 2009     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(fluorene‐co‐alt‐phenylene) containing 1,3,4‐oxadiazole dendritic pendants

A series of poly(fluorene‐co‐alt‐phenylene)s containing various generations of dendritic oxadiazole (OXD) pendent wedges were synthesized by the Suzuki polycondensation of OXD‐functionalized 1,4‐dibromophenylene with 9,9‐dihexylfluorene‐2,7‐diboronic ester. The obtained polymers possessed excellent solubility in common solvents and good thermal stability. Photophysical studies showed that the dendronized polymers appended with higher generations of OXD dendrons exhibited enhanced photoluminescence efficiencies and narrower values of the full width at half‐maximum. This was attributed to the shielding effect induced by the bulky dendritic OXD side chains, which prevented self‐quenching and suppressed the formation of aggregates/excimers. The energy transfer from the OXD dendrons to the polymer backbones was very efficient when excitation of the peripheral OXD dendrons resulted mainly in the polymer backbone emission alone. In particular, the photoluminescence emission intensities by the sensitized excitations of OXD dendrons in solid films of the polymers were all stronger than those by the direct excitations of their polymer conjugated backbones. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6765–6774, 2006     

Design and synthesis of new cationic water‐soluble pyrene containing dendrons for DNA sensory applications

A series of new water‐soluble cationic pyrene‐dendron derivatives, G1 , G2 , and G3, was successfully synthesized and characterized. These new dendrons were designed with the quaternized amino moieties at the periphery of the dendrons for DNA detection and functionalized with pyrene as a fluorescent probe. The electrostatic interactions between the plasmid DNA (pDNA) and cationic charged dendrons in an aqueous solution resulted in a change in the photophysical properties of pyrene, which could be shown in the UV‐vis and fluorescence spectra. Pyrene dendrons showed a high and rapid fluorescence response upon the addition of pDNA, which was strongly dependent on the size and hydrophobicity of the dendrons. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Dendronized polymers via Diels–Alder “click” reaction

A modular approach toward the synthesis of polymers containing dendron groups as side chains is developed using the Diels–Alder “click” reaction. For this purpose, a styrene‐based polymer appended with anthracene groups as reactive side chains was synthesized. First through third‐generation polyester dendrons containing furan‐protected maleimide groups at their focal point were synthesized. Facile, reagent‐free, thermal Diels–Alder cycloaddition between the anthracene‐containing polymer and latent‐reactive dendrons leads to quantitative functionalization of the polymer chains to afford dendronized polymers. The efficiency of this functionalization step was monitored using ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and FTIR and UV–vis spectrometry. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 410–416, 2010     

Bis‐dendritic polyethylene prepared by ring‐opening metathesis polymerization in the presence of bis‐dendritic chain transfer agents

The synthesis of ABA triblock copolymers is described, in which the A blocks are poly(benzyl ether) dendrons and the B block is polycyclooctene or polyethylene. Bis‐dendritic cis‐olefins were synthesized and used as chain transfer agents in ring‐opening metathesis polymerization of cyclooctene in a process that inserts the dendrons at the polymer chain‐ends. Evaluation of the polymer products by spectroscopic, chromatographic, and titration methods supports their triblock structure. Hydrogenation of the unsaturated polycyclooctene B‐block of these ABA triblock copolymers provides the first reported synthesis of bisdendritic polyethylene. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5429–5439, 2005     

Helicity Induction and Its Static Memory of Poly(biphenylylacetylene)s Bearing Pyridine N‐Oxide Groups and Their Use as Asymmetric Organocatalysts

Novel poly(biphenylylacetylene) derivatives carrying different types of pyridine N‐oxide units with a bulky or less‐bulky substituent at a different position as the functional pendant groups (poly‐ 2a and poly‐ 2b ) were synthesized by the rhodium‐catalyzed polymerization of the corresponding monomers. The influence of the steric environment around the catalytically active pyridine N‐oxide sites on the helicity induction and its static memory as well as the asymmetric catalytic activities of the resulting helical polymers with a macromolecular helicity memory was investigated. The polyacetylenes formed an excess one‐handed helical conformation upon noncovalent interactions with optically active alcohols and the induced macromolecular helicities of the polyacetylenes were efficiently memorized after the removal of the chiral inducers. Poly‐ 2b with the macromolecular helicity memory showed an enantioselectivity for the catalytic asymmetric allylation of benzaldehydes, producing optically active allyl alcohols, although their enantioselectivities were low. On the other hand, poly‐ 2a exhibited a negligible catalytic activity probably due to the bulky substituent at the o‐position of the pyridine N‐oxide residues, while poly‐ 2a underwent a unique helix‐inversion with the increasing concentration of chiral alcohols and the opposite helicity of poly‐ 2a was further successfully memorized. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 2481–2490     

Surface modification of activated polymeric matrices by dendritic attachments

Aware of the growing interest in materials that exhibit specific physiochemical properties and potential applications, we focused our work on modifying commercial agarose with polyfunctional dendrons capable of molecular recognition through hydrogen bonding. 2,6‐Di(acylamino)pyridine moieties within the internal superstructure of dendritic macromolecules have been reported to be capable of forming H‐bonded complexes with imide groups, such as barbituric acid and its derivatives. We report the synthesis of new dendrons possessing multiple 2,6‐di(acylamino)pyridinyl sites, each capable of molecular recognition, and the development of new polymeric supports of an activated agarose matrix by surface modification. From comparative studies of the beads modified by different dendrons, we found improved results in those dendritic supports possessing 2,6‐di(acylamino)pyridinyl moieties, except when their juxtaposition between the groups promoted inner H bonds. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 2779–2786, 2000     

Synthesis,characterization, and optoelectronic properties of hyperbranched polyfluorenes containing pendant benzylether dendrons

Linear polyfluorenes with low generation of side benzylether dendrons ( PLG0 , PLG1 ) and hyperbranched polyfluorenes with 1,3,5‐benzene branch unit ( PHG0 and PHG1 ) were prepared by the Suzuki coupling reaction to investigate the structural effect on optoelectronic properties. Their optical properties, both in solution and film state, were investigated using absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The excimer emission of polyfluorene at about 530 nm, induced by thermal annealing, was completely suppressed by the hyperbranched structure, but the suppression was not obvious by the side benzylether dendrons. The optoelectronic performance of the EL devices (ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer/Ca/Al) was strongly dependent upon chemical structures of the emitting polyfluorenes. The hyperbranched PHG0 with zero generation of benzylether side groups revealed the best device performance, with maximal luminance and maximal luminance efficiency of 2350 cd/m² and 0.33 cd/A, respectively. The results suggest that incorporation of branch units with low generation of benzylether dendrons is an effective way to improve annealing stability and EL performance of the polyfluorenes. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 5945–5958, 2008