Preparation of porous hollow silica spheres via a layer-by-layer process and the chromatographic performance

Abstract

Hollow silica spheres possessing excellent mechanical properties were successfully prepared through a layer-by-layer process using uniform polystyrene (PS) latex fabricated by dispersion polymerization as template. The formation of hollow SiO₂ micro-spheres, structures and properties were observed in detail by zeta potential, SEM, TEM, FTIR, TGA and nitrogen sorption porosimetry. The results indicated that the hollow spheres were uniform with particle diameter of 1.6 μm and shell thickness of 150 nm. The surface area was 511 m²/g and the pore diameter was 8.36 nm. A new stationary phase for HPLC was obtained by using C₁₈-derivatized hollow SiO₂ micro-spheres as packing materials and the chromatographic properties were evaluated for the separation of some regular small molecules. The packed column showed low column pressure, high values of efficiency (up to about 43 000 plates/m) and appropriate asymmetry factors.

Keywords

PS latex / layer-by-layer / hollow silica spheres / packing materials

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