Interfacial regions governing internal cavities of dendrimers. Studies of poly (alkyl aryl ether) dendrimers constituted with linkers of varying alkyl chain length

This report deals with a study of the properties of internal cavities of dendritic macromolecules that are capable of encapsulating and mediating photoreactions of guest molecules. The internal cavity structures of dendrimers are determined by the interfacial regions between the aqueous exterior and hydrocarbon like interior constituted by the linkers that connect symmetrically sited branch points constituting the dendrimer and head groups that cap the dendrimers. Phloroglucinol-based poly(alkyl aryl ether) dendrimers constituted with a homologous series of alkyl linkers were undertaken for the current study. Twelve dendrimers within first, second, and third generations, having ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, and n-pentyl groups as the linkers and hydroxyl groups at peripheries in each generation, were synthesized. Encapsulation of pyrene and coumarins by aqueous basic solutions of dendrimers were monitored by UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopies, which showed that a lower generation dendrimer with an optimal...