One-pot synthesis of porous cyclomatrix-type polyphosphazene nanotubes with closed ends via an in situ template approach

Novel uniform cyclomatrix-type polyphosphazene (PPZ) nanotubes with closed ends (similar to 30 nm inner diameter, similar to 100 nm outer diameter and several micrometers long) were selectively prepared using an in situ template method. The structure and morphology of the PPZ nanotubes were determined by a wide range of spectroscopic, microscopic and analytical methods. TGA experiments were carried out to study their thermal stability. Based on the characterization results, a formation mechanism of the nanotubes was proposed. (C) 2008 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.