Chromatographic assessment of two hybrid monoliths prepared via epoxy-amine ring-opening polymerization and methacrylate-based free radical polymerization using methacrylate epoxy cyclosiloxane as functional monomer

• Two hybrid monoliths were prepared by different polymerization techniques.
• Two hybrid monoliths were investigated on the morphology and chromatographic assessment.
• Both hybrid monoliths showed satisfactory tailorability.

Two kinds of hybrid monolithic columns were prepared by using methacrylate epoxy cyclosiloxane (epoxy-MA) as functional monomer, containing three epoxy moieties and one methacrylate group. One column was in situ fabricated by ring-opening polymerization of epoxy-MA and 1,10-diaminodecane (DAD) using a porogenic system consisting of isopropanol (IPA), H2O and ethanol at 65 °C for 12 h. The other was prepared by free radical polymerization of epoxy-MA and ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) using 1-propanol and 1,4-butanediol as the porogenic solvents at 60 °C for 12 h. Two hybrid monoliths were investigated on the morphology and chromatographic assessment. Although two kinds of monolithic columns were prepared with epoxy-MA, their morphologies looked rather different. It could be found that the epoxy-MA–DAD monolith possessed higher column efficiencies (25,000–34,000 plates/m) for the separation of alkylbenzenes than the epoxy-MA–EDMA monolith (12,000–13,000 plates/m) in reversed-phase nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC). Depending on the remaining epoxy or methacrylate groups on the surface of two pristine monoliths, the epoxy-MA–EDMA monolith could be easily modified with 1-octadecylamine (ODA) via ring-opening reaction, while the epoxy-MA–DAD monolith could be modified with stearyl methacrylate (SMA) via free radical reaction. The chromatographic performance for the separation of alkylbenzenes on SMA-modified epoxy-MA–DAD monolith was remarkably improved (42,000-54,000 plates/m) when compared with that on pristine epoxy-MA–DAD monolith, while it was not obviously enhanced on ODA-modified epoxy-MA–EDMA monolith when compared with that on pristine epoxy-MA–EDMA monolith. The enhancement of the column efficiency of epoxy-MA–DAD monolith after modification might be ascribed to the decreased mass-transfer resistence. The two kinds of hybrid monoliths were also applied for separations of six phenols and seven basic compounds in nano-LC.