Abstract
The field of phosphazene high polymers has developed into a large area of more than 700 different types of macromolecules with novel combinations of properties and diverse applications. Small-molecule phosphazene rings have played a major role in these developments, first as starting materials for polymer synthesis, second as synthetic and structural models for the high polymers, and third as components of hybrid inorganic-organic macromolecules. These three aspects are reviewed, with examples taken from our recent work, together with some thoughts on the development of this and related fields in the future.