Grafted macroporous polymer monolithic disks: a new format of scavengers for solution-phase combinatorial chemistry

Polyethylene encased porous poly(chloromethylstyrene-co-divinylbenzene) disks have been prepared by polymerization in a cylindrical glass mold and cut to a disk format. Following attachment of a free radical azo initiator 4,4'-azobis(4-cyanovaleric acid) to available functionalities at the surface of the pores, the polymerization of 2-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone was initiated from the surface. To avoid an undesirable increase in flow resistance and to improve the yield of grafting, divinylbenzene was added to the polymerization mixture in order to form a layer of swellable reactive polymer gel within the pores. The use of these disks as scavenging filters to remove various amines from solutions in flow-through operations was demonstrated by effective removal of amines in a very short period of time from their solutions in a variety of solvents, even including alcohols and water.