Catalyst assisted synthesis of initiator attached silica monolith particles via isocyanate-hydroxyl reaction for production of polystyrene bound chromatographic stationary phase of excellent separation efficiency

Dibutyltin dichloride (DBTDC) was used as a catalyst to chemically bind 4-chloromehtylphenylisocynate (4-CPI) to porous monolithic silica particles via isocyanate-hydroxyl reaction, and the reaction product was reacted with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (SDDC) to yield initiator attached silica monolith particles. Reversible addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization was taken place on them to result in polystyrene attached silica particles that showed excellent separation efficiency when packed in a chromatographic column (1.0 mm × 300 mm). The numbers of theoretical plates (N) of 56,500 is better than those of any commercially available HPLC or UHPLC column yet.