Abstract
This work presents the first instance of reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separation of small molecules using graphene oxide nanoparticle-modified polystyrene-divinylbenzene polymeric high internal phase emulsion (GONP PS-co-DVB polyHIPE) materials housed within a 200-µm internal diameter (i.d.) fused silica capillary. The graphene oxide nanoparticle (GONP)-modified materials were produced as a potential strategy to increase both the surface area limitations and the reproducibility issues observed in monolithic stationary phase materials. GONP PS-co-DVB polyHIPEs were found to have a surface area up to 40% lower than unmodified polymeric high internal phase emulsion (polyHIPE) stationary phases. However, despite having a surface area significantly lower than that of the unmodified material, the GONP-modified polyHIPEs demonstrated superior analyte adsorption properties. Reducing the GONP material did not have any significant impact on elution order or retention factor of the analytes, which was most likely due to low GONP loading attributed to the 250-nm GONPs utilised. The lower surface area of GONP-modified polyHIPEs provided similar separation efficiency and increased repeatability from injection to injection resulting in % relative standard deviations (%RSDs) of less than 0.6%, indicating the potential offered by graphene oxide (GO)-modified polyHIPES in flow through applications such as adsorption or separation processes.
Highlights
Polymeric high internal phase emulsions are polymer materials which are formed from emulsions where the internal droplet phase has a ratio greater than 0.74 of the total emulsion volume
PS-co-DVB polyHIPE materials were fabricated in situ within fused silica capillary housings
The graphene oxide nanoparticle (GONP)-modified polyHIPE appears to have a greater surface roughness compared to the unmodified material
Summary
Polymeric high internal phase emulsions (polyHIPEs) are polymer materials which are formed from emulsions where the internal droplet phase has a ratio greater than 0.74 of the total emulsion volume. When the internal droplet phase is aqueous and the continuous phase is organic, upon polymerisation a monolithic structure results with the formation of interconnected pore structures [1,2,3,4]. PolyHIPEs have been successfully applied in areas such as electrochemistry [5], tissue engineering [6,7] and solid-phase extraction [8,9]. PolyHIPEs have been developed as stationary phase materials for standard-bore liquid chromatography applications, Separations 2017, 4, 5; doi:10.3390/separations4010005 www.mdpi.com/journal/separations.
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