Preparation of porous polymer monolithic column using functionalized graphene oxide as a functional crosslinker for high performance liquid chromatography separation of small molecules.

A newly developed porous polymer monolith was prepared through copolymerization of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylmethacrylate modified graphene oxide with glycidyl methacrylate and ethylene dimethacrylate as a functional crosslinker, which was synthesized through silanization reaction of graphene oxide prepared by Hummers method with 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylmethacrylate. The monolith was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, mercury intrusion porosimetry and nitrogen adsorption measurement. The monolith column was applied as the stationary phase of high performance liquid chromatography and its chromatographic performance was evaluated by separation of small molecules in the isocratic reversed-phase mode. The chromatograms of hydrophobic steroids and polar aromatic amines on the prepared monolith displayed the enhanced separation performance over those on the parent monolith. The reproducibility of the column was less than 3.5% in terms of relative standard deviation of retention time. The results demonstrate that copolymerization of functionalized graphene oxide into porous polymer monolith was an effective tool for chromatography separation enhancement of small molecules in an isocratic mode.