DENDRON SEGREGATION IN MODEL DENDRIMERS

Monte Carlo calculations on model dendrimers demonstrate that individu al branches ('dendrons') of an isolated dendrimer spontaneously demix and are well segregated at equilibrium even when they are chemically i dentical. This is a result of the particular architecture of this clas s of macromolecules. It is conjectured that this segregation effect wi ll disappear under high density conditions, e.g. in poor solvents, or at the highest attainable generation number, or in neat fluids of dend rimers. The dendrimers possess fractal self-similarity over a rather n arrow scale of lengths with fractal dimensions of the order of 2.4 to 2.8.