Highly branched radial block copolymers via dendritic initiation of aliphatic polyesters

Living ring opening polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone initiated from the numerous chain-end hydroxymethyl groups of the analogous dendrimeric and hyperbranched polyesters derived from 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl) propionic acid is described. By controlling the size of the dendritic macromolecule and the molar ratio of epsilon-caprolactone, a variety of highly branched radial block copolymers are obtained. Comparison of the results obtained for the dendrimeric and hyperbranched initiators demonstrates that the reactivity of the chain-end hydroxymethyl groups in the dendrimer are significantly greater than in the isomeric hyperbranched case. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
NR 20140805