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Surface structure of size exclusion chromatography stationary phase
Author(s) -
KALE A.,
CHERYAN M.,
ROBINSON S.,
MACLAREN S.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2818.2007.01802.x
Subject(s) - microscale chemistry , environmental scanning electron microscope , carbon nanotube , nanoscopic scale , nanomaterials , phase (matter) , stationary phase , materials science , size exclusion chromatography , resolution (logic) , scanning electron microscope , nanotechnology , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemical engineering , chemistry , chromatography , composite material , organic chemistry , mathematics education , mathematics , artificial intelligence , computer science , engineering , enzyme
Summary Chromatography is a widely used separation unit operation for separating nanomaterials such as proteins and enzymes, quantum dots and carbon nanotubes. An understanding of the chromatographic stationary phase on a nanoscale would be extremely helpful in improving the process and developing efficient and new materials. This study is an attempt to characterize the stationary phase in its swollen wet state using environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Observation of the wet beads using ESEM is limited to a micron‐range resolution. However, AFM can be used in wet mode to characterize the stationary phase in both wet and dry states with nanometric resolution. In the swollen state, microscale cracks were observed on the surface and this may explain the high mass transfer rate and lower back pressures of the stationary phase. The structures on the surface of the stationary phase depict that the micron‐sized beads may be composed of nanometric beads.