Influence of the Growing Flexible Shell on the Molecular Behavior of Hybrid Dendrimers

Controllable Synthesis of Hybrid Dendrimers Composed of a Carbosilane Core and an Aromatic Shell: Does Size Matter?

The controllable synthesis of novel hybrid dendrimers composed of flexible and rigid components was accomplished via effective Cu-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition ("click") reaction between azide-functionalized carbosilane cores of two generations and monoethynyl-substituted hexaphenylbenzene dendron. A comprehensive analysis of the thermal and phase behavior of dendrimers allows us to detect a similar performance of dendrimers of both generations which, in our opinion, can be due to the similar ratio of rigid and flexible blocks in the dendrimers regardless the generation of carbosilane cores. The propensity to crystallization and ordering after the annealing procedure was confirmed by DSC and SWAXS. We found that hybrid dendrimers have a tendency to order depending on their constituents of different structures. This is in contrast to homogeneous dendrimers whose propensity to order is determined by the dendrimer molecule as a whole.

Thiol-Ene Click-Inspired Late-Stage Modification of Long-Chain Polyurethane Dendrimers

The construction of well-defined polyurethane dendrimers is challenging due to the high reactivity of externally added or in situ formed isocyanates leading to the formation of side products. With a primary focus of dendrimer research being the interaction of the periphery and the core, we report the synthesis of a common polyurethane dendron, which allows for the late-stage variation of both the periphery and the core. The periphery can be varied simply by installing a clickable unit in the dendron and then attaching to the core and vice-versa. Thus, a common dendron allows for varying periphery and core in the final two steps. To accomplish this, a protecting group-free, one-pot multicomponent Curtius reaction was utilized to afford a robust and versatile AB2 type polyurethane dendron employing commercially available simple molecules: 5-hydroxyisophthalic acid, 11-bromoundecanol, and 4-penten-1-ol. Subsequent late-stage modifications of either dendrons or dendrimers via a thiol-ene click reaction gave surface-functionalized alternating aromatic-aliphatic polyurethane homodendrimers to generation-three (G3). The dendrons and the dendrimers were characterized by NMR, mass spectrometry, and FT-IR analysis. A bifunctional AB2 type dendritic monomer demonstrated this approach’s versatility that can either undergo a thiol-ene click or attachment to the core. This approach enables the incorporation of functionalities at the periphery and the core that may not withstand the dendrimer growth for the synthesis of polyurethane dendrimers and other dendritic macromolecules.

Thermodynamic Properties of the First-Generation Hybrid Dendrimer with "Carbosilane Core/Phenylene Shell" Structure

The molar heat capacity of the first-generation hybrid dendrimer with a "carbosilane core/phenylene shell" structure was measured for the first time in the temperature range T = 6-600 K using a precise adiabatic vacuum calorimeter and DSC. In the above temperature interval, the glass transition of the studied compound was observed, and its thermodynamic characteristics were determined. The standard thermodynamic functions (the enthalpy, the entropy, and the Gibbs energy) of the hybrid dendrimer were calculated over the range from T = 0 to 600 K using the experimentally determined heat capacity. The standard entropy of formation of the investigated dendrimer was evaluated at T = 298.15 K. The obtained thermodynamic properties of the studied hybrid dendrimer were compared and discussed with the literature data for some of the first-generation organosilicon and pyridylphenylene dendrimers.

Multiarm Star-Shaped Polydimethylsiloxanes with a Dendritic Branching Center

New multiarm stars have been synthesized based on polylithium derivatives of high-generation carbosilane dendrimers. In the synthesis of multiarm stars based on the eighth-generation dendrimer, steric hindrances were observed even during the synthesis of a polylithium initiator. Subsequently, this led to chain transfer reactions between growing arms, as well as other side effects. As a result, dense nanogel formations with a higher tendency of ordering than in classical objects of this type were isolated from the reaction mixture. The study of the rheology of multiarm stars based on sixth-generation dendrimers made it possible to determine the activation energies of viscous flow in these objects, which makes it possible to consider them as objects with a macromolecular nature and a reptation flow mechanism.

Adsorption of Silicon-Containing Dendrimers: Effects of Chemical Composition, Structure, and Generation Number

We studied the conformational behavior of silicon-containing dendrimers during their adsorption onto a flat impenetrable surface by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Four homologous series of dendrimers from the 4th up to the 7th generations were modeled, namely, two types of carbosilane dendrimers differing by the functionality of the core Si atom and two types of siloxane dendrimers with different lengths of the spacers. Comparative analysis of the fractions of adsorbed atoms belonging to various structural layers within dendrimers as well as density profiles allowed us to elucidate not only some general trends but also the effects determined by dendrimer specificity. In particular, it was found that in contrast to the carbosilane dendrimers interacting with the adsorbing surface mainly by their peripheral layers, the siloxane dendrimers with the longer -O-Si(CH3)2-O spacers expose atoms from their interior to the surface spreading out on it. These findings are important for the design of functional materials on the basis of silicon-containing dendrimers.

A thiol–ene click reaction with preservation of the Si–H bond: a new approach for the synthesis of functional organosilicon compounds

This work presents an approach for the preparation of functional hydrosilanes.