Decorating polymer beads with 10 14 inorganic-organic [2]rotaxanes as shown by spin counting.

Polymer beads have been used as the core of magnetic particles for around twenty years. Here we report studies to attach polymetallic complexes to polymer beads for the first time, producing beads of around 115 microns diameter that are attached to 10 14 hybrid inorganic-organic [2]rotaxanes. The bead is then formally a [10 14 ] rotaxane. The number of complexes attached is counted by EPR spectroscopy after including TEMPO radicals within the thread of the hybrid [2]rotaxanes.