Fast preparation of a highly efficient organic monolith via photo-initiated thiol-ene click polymerization for capillary liquid chromatography

•A fast approach was successfully developed to prepare an organic monolith via thiol-ene click polymerization.•Effects of the compositions of prepolymerization mixture and reaction time were investigated.•The obtained organic monolith exhibited a very high column efficiency of ∼133,000 plates per meter.

A novel organic monolith was firstly prepared in a UV-transparent fused-silica capillary by a single-step approach via photo-initiated thiol-ene click polymerization reaction of 1,2,4-trivinylcyclohexane (TVCH) and pentaerythriol tetra(3-mercaptopropionate) (4SH) within 10 min. The effects of both composition of prepolymerization solution and polymerization time on the morphology and permeability of monolithic column were investigated in detail. Then, the optimal condition was acquired to fabricate a homogeneous and permeable organic monolith. The chemical groups of the monolithic column were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The SEM graphs showed the organic monolith possessed a uniform porous structure, which promotes the highest column efficiency of ∼133,000 plates per meter for alkylbenzenes at the linear velocity of 0.65 mm/s in reversed-phase liquid chromatography. Finally, the organic monolithic column was further applied for separation of basic compounds, pesticides and EPA610, indicating satisfactory separation ability.