Macromolecular structures hyperbranched polymer characterization

Dendritic macromolecules exhibit compact globular structures which lead to their low viscosity in the melt or in solution. Furthermore, dendritic macromolecules are characterized by a very large number of available functional groups, which lead to unprecedented freedom for changing/tuning/tailoring the properties of these multivalent scaffolds via complete or partial derivatization with other chemical moieties. All these features have contributed to multidisciplinary applications of these unique macromolecular structures in recent years 6, 7). The development of efficient synthetic routes in recent years has given rise to a virtually unlimited supply of commercially available dendritic polymers, at very affordable price. The transport properties of hyperbranched and dendritic polymers have recently attracted attention as potentially new barrier and membrane materials 8-9). 

Ferrocene-based Branched Polymers (Dendrimers). One of the topics in macromolecular chemistry is constituted by dendrimers, or hyperbranched macromolecules of tridimensional globular structure, the surface of which is characterized by a large number of functional groups, Scheme 4. Such functionalities impart to the molecules solubility, viscosity and thermal properties different from those of the common linear polymers.38c,d 44... 

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