Dendrimeric phosphines in asymmetric catalysis

Dendrimers are hyperbranched nanosized and precisely defined molecules, attracting increasing attention each year due to their numerous properties in catalysis, materials science, and biology. This tutorial review concerns the use of dendrimers as catalysts and focuses more precisely on their properties as enantioselective catalysts. Emphasis is put on chiral phosphine complexes constituting the core or the end groups of various types of dendrimers. The effect of the location of the catalytic entities, the effect of the size (generation) and the nature of the dendritic skeleton on the enantiomeric excesses are discussed.