In situ synthesis of a spherical covalent organic framework as a stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a novel type of crystalline porous organic polymer materials recently developed. It has several advantages in chromatographic separation field, such as high thermal stability, porosity, structural regularity, and large specific surface area. Here, a novel spherical COF 1,3,5-tris(4-aminophenyl)benzene (TAPB) and 2,5-bis(2-propyn-1-yloxy)-1,4-benzenedicarboxaldehyde (BPTA) was developed as an electrochromatographic stationary phase for capillary electro-chromatography separation. The COF TAPB-BPTA modified capillary column was fabricated via a facile in situ growth method at room temperature. The characterization results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that COF TAPB-BPTA were successfully modified onto the capillary inner surface. The electrochromatography separation performance of the COF TAPB-BPTA modified capillary was investigated. The prepared column demonstrated outstanding separation performance toward alkylbenzenes, phenols, and chlorobenzenes compounds. Furthermore, the baseline separations of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and parabens with good efficiency and high resolution were achieved. Also, the prepared column possessed satisfactory precision of the intra-day runs (n 1/4 5), inter-day runs (n 1/4 3), and parallel columns (n 1/4 3), and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the retention times of tested alkylbenzenes were all less than 2.58%. Thus, this new COF-based stationary phase shows tremendous application potential in chromatographic separation field.(C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Xi'an Jiaotong University.

Automated summary

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a new type of crystalline porous organic polymer materials with high thermal stability, porosity, structural regularity, and large specific surface area. In this study, a novel spherical COF TAPB-BPTA modified capillary column was developed as an electrochromatographic stationary phase, which demonstrated outstanding separation performance towards alkylbenzenes, phenols, and chlorobenzenes compounds. Additionally, baseline separations of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and parabens with good efficiency and high resolution were achieved. The results indicate that the COF-based stationary phase has tremendous application potential in the chromatographic separation field.