Ordered macroporous quercetin molecularly imprinted polymers: Preparation, characterization, and separation performance

Ordered macroporous molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared by a combination of the colloidal crystal templating method and the molecular imprinting technique by using SiO₂ colloidal crystal as the macroporogen, quercetin as the imprinting template, acrylamide as the functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the cross-linker and tetrahydrofuran as the solvent. Scanning electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller measurements show that the ordered macroporous molecularly imprinted polymers have a more regular macroporous structure, a narrower pore distribution and a greater porosity compared with the traditional bulk molecularly imprinted polymers. The kinetic and isothermal adsorption behaviors of the polymers were investigated. The results indicate that the ordered macroporous molecularly imprinted polymers have a faster intraparticle mass transfer process and a higher adsorption capacity than the traditional bulk molecularly imprinted polymers. The ordered macroporous molecularly imprinted polymers were further employed as a sorbent for a solid-phase extraction. The results show that the ordered macroporous molecularly imprinted polymers can effectively separate quercetin from the Gingko hydrolysate.