Synthesis of highly dispersed mesostructured cellular foam silica sphere and its application in high-performance liquid chromatography

Highly dispersed mesostructured cellular foam silica spheres of relatively uniform micrometer size (3.5–4.5 μm) were successfully prepared using a triblock copolymer EO20PO70EO20 as the structure-directing agent accompanied by TMB and K2SO4. Both two additives have effective influence and K2SO4 have better performance than other inorganic salts such as KCl and NaCl. The pore size and surface area were tuned by TMB and NH4F. The resultant S-MCFs were modified with C18 group before being used as the HPLC stationary phase for effective separation of aromatic compounds and phthalic acid esters. The perfect spherical morphology and large pore volume gave rise to low and stable back pressure. High surface area, ultralarge pore size and unique pore structure would permit high flow rates and afford the possibility for fast separation.