Novel synthesis of magnetic poly(cyclotriphosphazene-co-4,4′-sulfonyldiphenol) nanotubes with magnetic phases embedded in the walls

Abstract

Magnetic poly(cyclotriphosphazene-co-4,4′-sulfonyldiphenol) (PZS) nanotubes with magnetic phases embedded in the walls were synthesized by ultrasonic irradiation via an in situ template approach. The structure and morphology of the magnetic PZS nanotubes were determined by FT-IR, XRD, FE-SEM, HR-TEM and EDX spectroscopies. The characterization results show that the magnetic PZS nanotubes are 50–100 nm in outer diameter and 5–10 nm in inner diameter; the Fe₃O₄nanoparticles with diameter of 5–10 nm are embedded in the walls of the nanotubes. The morphology of the magnetic PZS nanotubes is greatly influenced by the content of Fe₃O₄nanoparticles. A possible formation mechanism of the magnetic PZS nanotubes is proposed. The TGA results and the magnetic measurements show that the magnetic PZS nanotubes have good thermal stability and superparamagnetic properties.