Dendritic gels - Many arms make light work

Dendrimers and dendrons are a unique class of molecular-scale building blocks for the construction of nanostructured materials. This article provides an accessible overview of the ways in which the unique architectural feature of molecular-scale branching can endow gel-phase materials with tunability and a high density of functionality. This makes these structures ideal for the construction of multiply crosslinked covalent gels, and also for the self-assembly of multiply bound non-covalent (supramolecular) gels. The unique properties and potential applications of these types of material are discussed.