Abstract
Recent developments in the science and technology of polymeric materials have allowed the synthesis and characterization of well-defined complex macromolecular architectures. The use of these polymers provided the insight necessary to establish the structure-property relationship. Branching is known to affect the dilute solution and melt properties of the polymers, however a precise prediction of this effect is not easily assessable, mainly due to the random fashion by which branching takes place. Consequently elaborated synthetic methods allowing the synthesis of well-defined structures with high molecular and structural homogeneity and predetermined sites of branching are necessary. The synthesis, characterization and properties of a variety of well-defined hyperbranched polymers, such as multifunctional stars, comb polymers, single and double graft, block-graft, alpha-omega branched copolymers, dendritic-like structures and polymacromonomers, synthesized in our Laboratory, will be discussed.