CHAPTER 9. Extending Dendrimer Chemistry to Unique Macromolecular Architectures

The vast potential of these unique and complex materials has inspired scientists worldwide to construct dendritic architectures using various iterative chemistries, which has led to an array of well-established dendritic families that hold great promise in application-driven research. Despite a lack of products being made commercially available for real-world applications, interest in dendritic materials remains high and recent research has indicated a desire for more sophisticated functions that often require more intricate synthetic design. In this chapter we present a discussion of advances that use the highly efficient ‘click’ and multicomponent reactions to construct multifunctional dendritic scaffolds before highlighting the unique architectures of fullerodendrimers and hyperbranched polydendrons – the latter incorporating branched vinyl polymerisation strategies to enhance commercial viability. Finally, recent reports that describe the assembly of dendrimers and dendritic–linear polymer hybrids to form hierarchically larger assemblies will be discussed before reasoning why academic research is beginning to focus on simpler, albeit polydisperse, dendritic platforms. Throughout the discussion, there will be a sustainability awareness that highlights the number of reactions, the overall yields, the total reaction time, significant reagent excesses and the methods of purification involved – all of which contribute to the viability of large-scale manufacturing within a commercial setting.