Synthesis of novel magnetic phosphazene-containing polymer microspheres with active hydroxyl groups

Monodisperse magnetic phosphazene-containing polymer microspheres with active hydroxyl groups were prepared at room temperature by ultrasonic irradiation. The morphology and structure of the magnetic poly(cyclotriphosphazene-co-4,4'-sulfonyldiphenol) (PZS) microspheres were characterized and the coordination behavior between magnetic nanoparticles and PZS microspheres was investigated. The magnetic measurements reveal that the magnetic microspheres are superparamagnetic with saturation magnetization of 34.9 emu/g. The paper presents a simple, economic and environmentally friendly route to preparing monodisperse magnetic hybrid inorganic-organic microspheres with functional groups. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.