Cover Image, Volume 49, Issue 18

Dendrimer-star poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (DPCL) can be converted into ATRP macroinitiator (DPCLCl₂) for the synthesis of tunable thermosensitive amphiphilic dendrimer-star copolymers with Y-shaped arms, as presented by Weizhong Yuan and colleagues on page 4071 of this issue. DPCL molecules can present crystallizability at room temperature, and the crystalline morphology is measured by polarized optical microscope. The spherulites of DPCL can be observed, but the size of the spherulites is much smaller than that of linear PCL, and no obvious Maltese cross patterns are found. This can be attributed to the decrease of crystallizability of DPCL and the branched structure of DPCL providing more crystal nuclei than linear structure.