Functional Dendritic Polymers for the Development of Hybrid Materials for Water Purification

Dendritic polymers can, depending on their polarity and the interaction ability of their interior, encapsulate water contaminants. By appropriate functionalization of their external groups and following integration with ceramics, hybrid devices bearing nanosized sorbents are developed. In a first strategy, hydrophobic dendritic polymers were non-covalently attached on the surface of ceramic filter modules, while in a second, dendritic polymers were covalently bound on these surfaces. In another method, dendritic polymers act as templates and induce the formation of silica/dendritic polymer nanospheres. In all cases, the property of dendritic polymers to encapsulate impurities remains intact, leading to effective filtration/purification systems.