Preparation of a porous polymer monolithic column with an ionic liquid as a porogen and its applications for the separation of small molecules in high performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

A novel porous polymer monolithic column was prepared by in situ free radical polymerization and used as a stationary phase for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In this process, an ionic liquid (IL) was used as a porogen and reaction medium to create pores and enhance the flow-through properties of the polymer monoliths. The effect of IL in the polymerization mixture on the performance of the monoliths was studied in detail. The addition of IL can enhance the resolution and column efficiency compared to the monoliths with alcohol as the porogen. The chromatographic performance of the columns was demonstrated by the separation of various small molecules. The monolith exhibited a typical reversed phase chromatographic behavior with a column efficiency of 12 500 plates per m, which outperformed the commonly used porogen alcohol compounds. The results demonstrated that the IL was a potentially efficient porogen for the preparation of polymer monolithic columns. Moreover, the good mechanical stability, permeability, and reproducibility of column fabrication suggested that the proposed monolith can be expected to be an alternative tool for HPLC separation.

Polar and nonpolar organic polymer‐based monolithic columns for capillary electrochromatography and high‐performance liquid chromatography

“…The same research group has prepared a similar poly(TMPTA‐ co ‐EDMA) monolith by incorporating 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride (BMIM + Cl − ) IL in the polymerization solution . In contrast to the previous report, authors have claimed in the current work that IL acts as the porogen during the polymerization process.…”

A mini‐review of microstructural control during composite fiber spinning

“…42,43 Table 1 lists some recent work on porous fibers with associated applications and fabrication methods. The use of porogens is one of the most common methods, and the porogen types can be primarily divided into solid, 44,45 gaseous, 46 solvent, [47][48][49] ionic liquid 50 and oligomeric porogen. 51 Through further etching, washing or evaporating, porous structures can be obtained.…”

Monolithic stationary phases prepared via cyclic anhydride ring-opening polymerization as tunable platforms for chromatographic applications

“…[1][2][3][4] The used polymerization mixture has a strong effect on the monolith morphology and properties; hence, several researchers tried to optimize monomers, crosslinkers, and porogenic solvent compositions along with the polymerization conditions including temperature and time. 1,[4][5][6][7][8] The naked polymer monoliths are interconnected non-porous microglobules. The porous structure of the monolith channels mainly consists of large pores and in most cases, absence of mesopores.…”