Magnetic Fe3O4-PS-polyacetylene composite microspheres showing chirality derived from helical substituted polyacetylene.

This communication reports the first integration of two significant concepts, "macromolecular helicity-derived chirality," and "magneticity" in one single microsphere entity. The novel chiral magnetic composite microspheres consisted of magnetic Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles and optically active helical substituted polyacetylene. Therefore, they exhibited both remarkable optical activity and magneticity. The microspheres adsorbed (R)-(+)-1-phenylethylamine much more quickly than the other enantiomer, demonstrating the potential applications of the chiral magnetic composite microspheres in chiral recognition and chiral resolution.