Synthesis of Rigid Dendritic Macromolecules: Enlarging the Repeat Unit Size as a Function of Generation Permits Growth To Continue

To date, most synthetic methods developed for preparing dendritic molecules have employed repeat units that possess considerable flexibility. It is presently unclear as to whether these methodologies can be applied directly to systems constructed from more rigid units. This paper addresses some of the difficulties we have encountered in our initial studies of rigid dendritic macromolecules. In addition, we report a modified covergent strategy which avoids the very serious problem of steric inhibition in these systems. Finally, we have investigated the use of peripheral functionality to enhance the solubility of rigid dendritic wedges.