Effect of the porosity of PS-DVB-copolymers on ion chromatographic behavior in inverse size-exclusion and ion chromatography.

Abstract

Small and highly pressure-stable PS-DVB copolymers of different porosity had been prepared by a two-step swelling procedure which enabled variation of diluent composition, an important characteristic affecting the porosity. The polymers were characterized by inverse size-exclusion chromatography and scanning electron microscopy. Subsequent chloromethylation and amination resulted in anion exchangers suitable for ion chromatography. The pore volume and the pore-size distribution is substantially affected by the fraction of the solvens component in the diluent. It was apparent from scanning electron microscopy that surface structure and the size of the polymer particles was not affected by diluent composition. The functionalization process led to a decrease in pore volume. The pore-size distribution remained unchanged during functionalization, which can be explained in terms of partial closing of all pore sizes. The chromatographic efficiency of the functionalized polymers in ion chromatography was highly dependent on diluent composition and the extent of functionalization was determined by the total pore volume. The composition of the diluent is an excellent tool for optimization of polymers used for the synthesis of surface-functionalized anion exchangers.