Rational design of stimuli-responsive magnetic polymer hybrid (nano)materials

Combining organic and inorganic materials is a fascinating strategy to produce hybrid materials that combine the advantages of both polymeric and inorganic materials. Among the various types of organic-inorganic hybrids, stimuli-responsive magnetic polymer hybrids (RMPHs) are particularly promising materials for a wide variety of applications. While the magnetic properties are generally provided by the presence of magnetic nanoparticles, such as iron oxide nanoparticles, the polymeric compound brings the stimuli-responsiveness, e.g. responsiveness to pH, temperature, redox reaction or irradiation. Furthermore, as the chemical structure and architecture of the polymeric materials are diverse and easily tunable, stimuli-RMPHs have found applications in various domains, including catalysis, biotechnology, (bio)imaging and cancer therapy. Given the importance of the hybrids' shape and morphology for the targeted application, this review presents the possible synthetic strategies to rationally design stimuli-RMPHs of various morphologies ranging from nanometric core-shell structures to nanogels, microgels and membranes. (c) 2023 The Authors. Polymer International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Industrial Chemistry.