New Monolithic Capillary Columns with Well-Defined Macropores Based on Poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene)

Macroporous polymer monoliths based on poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) with varied styrene/divinylbenzene ratios have been prepared by organotellurium-mediated living radical polymerization. The well-defined cocontinuous macroporous structure can be obtained by polymerization-induced spinodal decomposition, and the pore structures are controlled by adjusting the starting composition. The separation efficiency of small molecules (alkylbenzenes) in the obtained monoliths has been evaluated in the capillary format by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) under the isocratic reversed-phase mode. Baseline separations of these molecules with a low pressure drop (similar to 2 MPa) have been achieved because of the well-defined macropores and to the less-heterogeneous cross-linked networks.