Design, synthesis, characterization and magnetic studies of the metal-quinolate PHEMA-b-HQ polymer micelles

Metal coordinated micelles based on the diblock copolymer PHEMA82-b-HQ78 were synthesized. The block PHQ with 8-hydroxyquinoline groups can coordinate with metal ions to form the crosslinked core for micellization, while the other block PHEMA in the shell of the micelle improves its solubility. The morphological characteristics and the coordinating interaction between the metal ions and the core segment were characterized by DLS and TEM. The magnetic measurement found that the Curie-Weiss temperature Tθ of the metalized micelle was 56 K and its hysteresis loop exhibited the typical 'S' shape with low Hc and Mr at 5 K, indicating that this micelle had the properties of soft ferromagnetic materials.