Rapid Preparation and Characterization of Methacrylate-Based Monoliths for Chromatographic and Electrophoretic Separation

Butyl-methacrylate-based porous monoliths were rapidly prepared in the fused-silica capillary with a 10-cm stripe of polyimide removed from its exterior. The photopolymerization could be carried out in 150 s using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linking agent; 1-propanol, 1,4-butanediol, and water as tri-porogenic solvents; and Irgacure 1800 as a photo-initiator. The effect of different morphologies on the efficiency and retention properties was investigated using pressure-assisted CEC (p-CEC), CEC, and low pressure-assisted liquid chromatography modes (LPLC). Baseline separation of the model analytes was respectively achieved including thiourea, toluene, naphthalene, and biphenyl with the lowest theoretical height up to 8.0 microm for thiourea in the mode of p-CEC. Furthermore, the influence of the tri-porogenic solvents on the morphology of methacrylate-based monoliths was systematically studied with mercury intrusion porosimetry and scanning electron microscopy.