Mass transport of small retained molecules in polymer-based monolithic columns

The mass transport properties of a non-retained (thiourea) and three retained low molecular weight compounds (acetophenone, valerophenone, and octanophenone) along a 4.6 mm × 45 mm PROSWIFT™ RP-1S monolithic column made of rigid cross-linked poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) copolymer was investigated in depth. Accurate protocols (peak parking experiments, measurement of the first and second central moments of peak profiles by numerical integration) combined with the use of validated models of effective diffusion along monolithic structures were applied for the determination of the longitudinal diffusion, the eddy dispersion, and the skeleton-eluent mass transfer resistances due to the finite analyte diffusivity across the polymer skeleton and to the slow absorption kinetics into the polymer volume. Experimental results show by increasing order of importance evidence that the resolution performance of this short and wide polymer-based monolithic HPLC column is limited by the slow analyte diffusivity across the polymer skeleton (smaller than one tenth of the bulk diffusion coefficient for k′ > 1), its large eddy dispersion HETP (Heddy ≃ 100 μm), and the slow rate of absorption (≃10 Hz only) in the polymer volume for retained analytes. The column performance could be improved by preparing a more homogeneous material with a rigid internal mesoporous structure. This would provide a column bed having a larger specific surface area, allowing faster analyte diffusion across the mesoporous skeleton, a smaller eddy dispersion HETP, and a faster absorption kinetics in the polymeric monolith than those observed for the currently available materials.