Rapid fabrication and formation mechanism of cyclotriphosphazene-containing polymer nanofibers

Cyclotriphosphazene-containing polymer nanofibers with uniform diameters, high aspect ratios, and high specific surface area have been synthesized rapidly at high yields under ultrasonic irradiation via a self-directing template approach. During the polymerization, triethylamine (TEA) as an acid acceptor absorbed a byproduct hydrogen chloride (HCl) to afford triethylamine hydrochloride (TEACl), acting as structure-directing template and guiding the formation of nanofibrous structures. The mechanism was confirmed by means of SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD, TG, and N-2 adsorption method. The molecular structure of as-synthesized polymer nanofibers was characterized by solid state NMR and elemental analysis. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.