Preparation of a porous functional polymer and its application in the separation of small molecules in conjunction with HPLC

Abstract

A porous functional polymer was prepared by in situ polymerization reaction. In this process, azobisisobutyronitrile was used as the initiator; hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) and butyl methacrylate (BMA) as co-monomers; dodecyl alcohol as the porogenic solvent. The conditions of polymerization were optimized. The morphology of the polymer was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Chemical groups in the monolith were assayed by infrared spectrometry. The pore size distribution was determined by mercury intrusion porosimetry and nitrogen adsorption–desorption. Finally, the functional polymer, a poly(HDDA-co-BMA-co-EDMA) monolith, was used as the stationary phase of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to separate small molecules.