Synthesis of polyester dendrimers

Phloroglucinol 4, hydroquinone 5 and naphthalene-2,6-diol 6 react with the monomer 2, activated either by 1,3-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) or as its acid, chloride 3. Hydrogenolysis of the benzyl protecting groups, followed by repetition of these procedures leads, divergently, to three series of analytically pure aryl polyester dendrimers in high yields. The de Gennes limit appears to lie between generations three and four with the three-branched initiator core 4 and between generations four and five with the two-branched cores 5 and 6.