Chiral dendrimers - from architecturally interesting hyperbranched macromolecules to functional materials

The development of dendrimer chemistry has seen the realisation of a diverse range of architecturally fascinating macromolecules that have received extensive attention in the literature. Perhaps the most synthetically challenging hyperbranched polymers are chiral dendrimers and this review describes notable examples in this field. However, more importantly, these structurally complex macromolecules are not just artefacts-the application of chiral dendrimer systems in catalytic processes is covered in this article and recent developments of such technologies towards novel asymmetric catalysts are described.