Incorporation of metal-organic framework HKUST-1 into porous polymer monolithic capillary columns to enhance the chromatographic separation of small molecules

• HKUST-1 nanoparticles was incorporated into the polymer monolith for cLC.
• HKUST-1 polymer monolith was explored as the stationary phase for RP-cLC.
• HKUST-1 polymer monolith was demonstrated in the separation of small molecules with enhanced resolution and high column efficiency.
• The challenging separation of St and EB can be realized with the HKUST-1 polymer monolith using a binary polar mobile phase.

Metal-organic framework (MOF) HKUST-1 nanoparticles have been incorporated into poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) (HKUST-1-poly(GMA-co-EDMA)) monoliths to afford stationary phases with enhanced chromatographic performance of small molecules in the reversed phase capillary liquid chromatography. The effect of HKUST-1 nanoparticles in the polymerization mixture on the performance of the monolithic column was explored in detail. While the bare poly(GMA-co-EDMA) monolith exhibited poor resolution (Rs < 1.0) and low efficiency (800–16,300 plates/m), addition of a small amount of HKUST-1 nanoparticles to the polymerization mixture provide high increased resolution (Rs ≥ 1.3) and high efficiency ranged from 16,300 to 44,300 plates/m. Chromatographic performance of HKUST-1-poly(GMA-co-EDMA) monolith was demonstrated by separation of various analytes including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ethylbenzene and styrene, phenols and aromatic acids using a binary polar mobile phase (CH3CN/H2O). The HKUST-1-poly(GMA-co-EDMA) monolith displayed enhanced hydrophobic and π–π interaction characteristics in the reversed phase separation of test analytes compared to the bare poly(GMA-co-EDMA) monolith. The experiment results showed that HKUST-1-poly(GMA-co-EDMA) monoliths are an alternative to enhance the chromatographic separation of small molecules.