4-Vinylpyridine–Trimethylolpropane Trimethacrylate Composite Polymer Particles and Their Application as Adsorbents

Abstract

The study describes the synthesis of microspheres of 4-vinylpyridine (4VP) and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM) with uniform diameters. Polymeric 4VP–TRIM microspheres were prepared by seed polymerization, using polystyrene beads as a shape template. Following polymerization, microspheres with average diameters of 10.2, 8.5 and 5.6 μm and coefficient of variation of approximately 7% were obtained. By changing the molar ratio of co-monomers, it was possible to prepare 4VP–TRIM materials with developed porous structure and specific surface area of up to 355 m 2 /g. 4VP–TRIM microspheres were synthesized with the intention to use them as polymeric stationary phases in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The Smith method was used to evaluate the chromatographic properties of polymeric packing. Using two retention index scales (alkylbenzenes and alkyl aryl ketones), the retention indices of test compounds with different chemical characters were calculated. Toluene had the highest retention index on the studied stationary phase, whereas 2-phenylethanol had the smallest retention. In the reversed phase-mode HPLC, isocratic separation of alkylbenzenes was achieved with satisfactory resolution on 100 times 4.6 mm i.d. column. Theoretical plate number exceeding 16,000 m −1 could be obtained with benzene as the analyte. The resolving power of the prepared column was maintained when the mobile phase flow rate was increased from 1 to 2 ml/minute.