Hydrophobized silicas, such as octadecylated silicas, are very useful as packing materials for reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography, RP-HPLC. A simple modification of the mobile phase has expanded their applicability in analytical chemistry and separation technology. Similarly, a chemical modification of an organic phase on silica has provided versatility in the separation mode even in RP-HPLC. For these reasons, unique organic stationary phases have been created during the past decade. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Fullerene C60 bonded silica 3,4 showed higher selectivity for calixarene isomers, fullerenes C60 and C70, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The stationary phases containing heavy atoms, such as sulfur, chlorine and bromine resulted in longer retentions of fullerenes.
2Various porphyrin-silica stationary phases, [6][7][8] alkyl diphenyl-silicas 1 and (2,4,6-tri-tertbutylphenoxy)dimethyl-silicas 5 exhibited extraordinary shape selectivity in the separation of PAHs and fullerenes. We have reported that polymer-grafted silica exhibited selective separation in HPLC. Polymers with trimethoxysilyl terminal groups were synthesized using the telomerization method and chemically-grafted on silica particles. A number of synthetic polymers, such as poly(styrene), 10 poly(acrylonitrile), 11 poly(methylacrylate), 9,12 poly(vinylpyridine) 16 and poly(Lalanine), 14,15 were used to develop the polymer-silica hybrid materials as a stationary phase of HPLC. On the other hand, we have proposed that self-assembled systems, such as lipid aggregates, can provide a highly-ordered microenvironment leading to unique host-guest chemistry exceeding the functions of the original lipid. 17 Based on these points, we have focused on the ordered structures of poly(octadecyl acrylate), ODAn and the ODAn-grafted silica for applying to RP-HPLC.18 Through these studies, we recognize that the weak subsidiary effects due to the carbonyl groups in the polymer work as main driving force for molecular-shape selectivity toward π-electron-containing compounds and the selectivity is specifically enhanced by ordering of the long-chain alkyl moieties. [19][20][21][22] The present study is aimed at controlling the ordered state of ODAn (Fig. 1) by the polymerization condition, and evaluating its effect on the selectivity, with HPLC toward the structural isomers of terphenyls and four-ring polyaromatic hydrocarbons and with differential scanning calorimetry and NMR spectroscopy. Chemistry & Engineering, Kyushu University, Japan Poly(octadecyl acrylate) with a terminal reactive group was synthesized by radical telomerization in various solvents. The polymers were grafted onto porous silica for use in RP-HPLC, and the molecular recognition ability was investigated along with the selectivity for the structural isomers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The mechanism of selectivity was also investigated with differential scanning calorimetry and NMR spectroscopic observations.
Experimental