Facile synthesis of uniform spherical conjugated microporous polymers as stationary phases for ultra-performance...

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) are a class of amorphous porous organic materials with extensive π-conjugated networks. In recent years, porous organic materials have attracted growing attention in chromatography due to their structural diversity and designability. Among them, CMPs have been extensively explored in areas such as gas storage and separation, catalysis, and sensing. However, their application in chromatography remains largely limited.

In this work, uniform spherical conjugated microporous polymers (SCMPs) were synthesized at room temperature via a facile Schiff-base condensation reaction. The micron-size, narrow size distribution, and great monodispersity endowed SCMPs with high efficiency and good selectivity. The direct-packed SCMPs column achieved efficient separations of a variety of aromatic compounds with differing hydrophobicity, including monosubstituted aromatics, organic halides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), styrene analogues, and nitroaniline positional isomers. Notably, the column efficiency for separation of alkylbenzenes reached 67907-75166 plates/m. Furthermore, the LSS and QSS retention models were established, revealing that analyte retention on the SCMPs column was predominantly governed by hydrophobic interactions, accompanied by contributions from other intermolecular forces.

For the first time, SCMPs were directly packed into chromatographic column without traditional supports such as silica as a novel stationary phase for ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). This research demonstrated the application potential of SCMPs in chromatography, offering new possibilities for developing chromatographic stationary phases.