Liquid chromatography of macromolecules at the critical adsorption point. II. Role of column packing: Bare silica gel

Liquid chromatography of macromolecules at the critical adsorption point (LC CAP) presents a potentially very powerful method for molecular characterization of complex polymers. However, LC CAP applicability is limited due to various experimental problems. The pore sizes and surface chemistry of the column packings belong to the most important weak points of the method. The LC CAP behavior of poly(methyl methacrylate)s was investigated using bare silica gels of 6, 12, and 100 nm pore sizes and with various amounts of surface silanols. Tetrahydrofuran as the adsorption suppressing liquid and toluene as the adsorption promoting liquid were mixed to form the “nearly critical” eluents. Both pore size and surface chemistry of silica were found to strongly influence the retentive characteristics of the system in the critical adsorption area. Macromolecules that were large enough to be excluded from the packing pores hardly followed the LC CAP rules: their retention volumes changed irregularly with the polymer molar mass and their recovery dropped sharply. The narrow pore silica gel-packed column governed the elution patterns of the whole column set composed of silica gels with different pore sizes. This makes the conventional LC CAP characterization of common polymers with broader molar mass distribution impractical and even not feasible. A hybrid column system was proposed containing narrow pore nonadsorptive column added in series to the meso- and macroporous LC CAP silica gels. This narrow pore column would allow separation of gas, impurities, and system peaks from the polymer peaks. The possible successive changes of the surface of silica gel, e.g., due to formation of silanols by hydrolysis or due to irreversible adsorption of some admixtures from the sample or eluent may make the LC CAP irrepeatable. Pronounced peak broadening was observed in the critical adsorption area and this effect increased strongly with the polymer molar mass. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1363–1371, 1998     

Thermodynamic characterization of poly(2,2,3,3,3‐pentafluoropropyl methacrylate)

The thermodynamic characterization of a fluorinated methacrylic homopolymer was conducted by means of inverse gas chromatography (IGC), at infinite dilution. The homopolymer under study, poly(2,2,3,3,3‐pentafluoropropyl methacrylate) (PPFPMA), was synthesized via a free radical polymerization reaction and was characterized by the employment of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) techniques. The specific retention volume of 15 solvents, used as probes, was used for the assessment of the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter, the weight fraction activity coefficient, the molar heat, energy and entropy of sorption, the partial heat of mixing of the probes, as well as the solubility parameter of the polymer. The results demonstrate that PPFPMA is insoluble in most organic solvents even at increased temperatures, with the exception of solvents like 2‐Butanone. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 1826–1833, 2010     

Disruptions in the crystallinity of poly(lauryl methacrylate) due to adsorption on silica

The effects of adsorption of poly(lauryl methacrylate) (PLMA), a side‐chain crystalline polymer, on silica were investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements were made on both bulk and adsorbed PLMA. The reversible heat flow rates were observed as a function of temperature and the degree of crystallinity of the samples determined based on the broad melting transitions of the side chains in the surface samples. It was found that adsorption caused a disruption of the side‐chain crystallinity primarily in the tightly bound layer of the polymer, but did not significantly affect its glass transition temperature. A change in the packing of the hydrophobic side chains, as a result of adsorption, was also observed for the tightly adsorbed polymer. These results indicated that PLMA side chains in proximity to the silica surface have different properties from those in bulk PLMA. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 89–96     

Novel superhydrophobic silica/poly(siloxane‐fluoroacrylate) hybrid nanoparticles prepared via surface‐initiated ATRP and their surface properties: The effects of polymerization conditions

A series of superhydrophobic poly(methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, MPTS‐b‐2,‐2,3,3,4,4,4‐heptafluorobutyl methacrylate, HFBMA)‐grafted silica hybrid nanoparticles (SiO₂/PMPTS‐b‐PHFBMA) were prepared by two‐step surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI‐ATRP). Under the adopted polymerization conditions in our previous work, the superhydrophobic property was found to depend on the SI‐ATRP conditions of HFBMA. As a series of work, in this present study, the effects of polymerization conditions, such as the initiator concentration, the molar ratio of monomer and initiator, and the polymerization temperature on the SI‐ATRP kinetics and the interrelation between the kinetics and the surface properties of the nanoparticles were investigated. The results showed that the SI‐ATRP of HFBMA was well controlled. The results also showed that both the surface microphase separation and roughness of the hybrid nanoparticles could be strengthened with the increase of the molecular weight of polymer‐grafted silica hybrid nanoparticles. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Polybenzoxazine resins: Aspects of interaction and adsorption behavior

The technique of inverse gas chromatography (IGC) has been used to evaluate the acid–base interaction potential of two polybenzoxazines. One of these, prepared from bisphenol‐A monomer, was shown to be a net base. Another based on dihydroxybenzophenone registered as a net acid. The bisphenol‐A version was adsorbed at controlled thicknesses on α‐alumina, on fumed silica and on boron nitride, all three solids with acidic surfaces as shown by IGC data. Thin layers of the adsorbed polymer near monolayer coverage were strongly perturbed by the underlying substrate, the polymer surface now behaving as a net acid. Thicker layers of the adsorbed polymer revert to basicity, but fail to attain the acid–base interaction constants of the pure polymer. The presence of strongly interactive substrates leads to the creation of a substantial interphase, the interaction properties of the adsorbed polymer varying through the thickness of this layer. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1441–1447, 1999     

聚乙二醇、聚丙二醇和环氧乙烷-环氧丙烷嵌段共聚物在固-液界面上的吸附 III:硅烷化活性炭/水和甲基化硅胶/水界面

测定了25℃时硅烷化不同时间(1至30天)的活性炭及甲基化硅胶自水溶液中吸附四种聚乙二醇(PEG)、三种聚丙二醇(PPG)和环氧乙烷(EO)-环氧丙烷(PO)嵌段共聚物pluronic-L64的等温线。结果表明, 在各活性炭样品上的等温线均为Langmuir型的; 同一炭样对不同PEG的极限吸附量(g·g^-^1)与分子量无关; 极限吸附时每个PEG分子所占面积(A)与分子中所含EO数(nEO)间有直线关系, 直线的斜率与硅烷化时间有关, 这一结果可用硅烷化时间延长时吸附分子的EO基可能以其氧原子向水, 碳氢链节靠近固体表面取向的模型解释。根据PPG的极限吸附量与分子量有关和极限吸附时的分子面积推断PPG分子不是以平躺方式吸附。甲基化硅胶对PEG的吸附量极小, 对PPG的吸附量随分子量减小急剧降低, 而对L64的吸附量明显大于在亲水硅胶上的。文中对所得结果给出了初步的解释。     

Energetics of protein adsorption on amine-functionalized mesostructured cellular foam silica

The energetics of lysozyme adsorption on aminopropyl-grafted MCF silica (MCF-NH2) are compared to the trends observed during lysozyme adsorption on native MCF silica using flow microcalorimetry (FMC). Surface modification on MCF silica affects adsorption energetics significantly. All thermograms consist of two initial exothermic peaks and one later endothermic peak, but the heat signal trends of MCF-NH2 are opposite from those observed for adsorption onto native MCF silica in salt solutions of sodium acetate and sodium sulfate. At low ionic strength (0.01 M), LYS adsorption onto MCF-NH2 was accompanied by a large exotherm followed by a desorption endotherm. With increasing ionic strength (0.1 and 3.01 M), the magnitude of the thermal signal decreased and the total process became less exothermic. Also a higher protein loading of 14 μmol g(-1) was obtained at low ionic strength in batch adsorption isotherm measurements. Taken together, the FMC thermograms and batch adsorption isotherms reveal that MCF-NH2 has the nature of an ion exchange adsorbent, even though lysozyme and the aminopropyl ligands have like net charges at the adsorption pH. Reduced electrostatic interaction, reduced Debye length, and increased adsorption-site competition attenuate exothermicity at higher ionic strengths. Thermograms from flow microcalorimetry (FMC) give rich insight into the mechanisms of protein adsorption. A two-step adsorption mechanism is proposed in which negatively charged surface amino acid side chains on the lysozyme surface make an initial attachment to surface aminopropyl ligands by electrostatic interaction (low ionic strength) or van der Waals interaction (high ionic strength). Secondary attachments take place between protruding amino acid side chains and silanol groups on the silica surface. The reduced secondary adsorption heat is attributed to the inhibitory effect of the enhanced steric barrier of aminopropyl group on MCF silica.     

Effective grafting of polymers onto ultrafine silica surface: Photopolymerization of vinyl monomers initiated by the system consisting of trichloroacetyl groups on the surface and Mn2(CO)10

The effective grafting of vinyl polymers onto an ultrafine silica surface was successfully achieved by the photopolymerization of vinyl monomers initiated by the system consisting of trichloroacetyl groups on the surface with Mn₂(CO)₁₀ under UV irradiation at 25 °C. The introduction of trichloroacetyl groups onto the surface of silica was achieved by the reaction of trichloroacetyl isocyanate with surface amino groups, which were introduced by the treatment of silica with 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane. During the polymerization, the corresponding polymers were effectively grafted onto the surface, based on the propagation of polymer from surface radicals formed by the interaction of trichloroacetyl groups and Mn₂(CO)₁₀. The percentage of poly(methyl methacrylate) grafting onto the silica reached 714.6% after 90 min. The grafting efficiency (proportion of grafted polymer to total polymer formed) in the polymerization of methyl methacrylate was very high, about 80%, indicating the depression of formation of ungrafted polymer. Polymer‐grafted silica gave a stable colloidal dispersion in good solvents for grafted polymer. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 2157–2163, 2001     

Microcalorimetric Study of Methanol Adsorption on Initial Silica and Silica Modified with Polyfluoroalkyl Groups

The adsorption of methanol on initial silica and modified silica samples containing large mesopores is studied by the adsorption–calorimetric method. The grafted tridecylfluoroalkyl groups have a tilted orientation on the silica and physically screen the part of the surface OH groups that have not been involved in the reaction with a modifier. Adsorbed methanol makes the modifying layer looser, thus facilitating the accessibility of methanol molecules to these hydrophilic adsorption sites. Concentrations of OH groups involved in the chemical interaction with molecules of the modifier, OH groups physically screened by its organofluoric radicals, and OH groups located on the surface areas free of the modifier are quantitatively estimated. An additional silanization of the modified silica leads to coverage of silica surface areas that are free of organofluoric modifier with trimethylsilyl radicals. The heat of interaction between the methanol molecules and silica surface hydroxyl groups is determined; it is equal to 60 kJ/mol. The structure of the modifying organofluoric layer and changes in this structure that resulted from additional silanization of the surface and from the methanol adsorption are discussed.     

Photografting of polymers onto nanosized silica surface initiated by eosin moieties immobilized onto the surface

The photograft polymerization of various vinyl monomers onto nanosized silica surfaces was investigated. It was initiated by eosin moieties introduced onto the silica surface. The preparation of the silica with eosin moieties was achieved by the reaction of eosin with benzyl chloride groups on the silica surface.These were introduced by the reaction of surface silanol groups with 4‐(chloromethyl)phenyltrimethoxysilane in the presence of t‐butyl ammonium bromide as a phase‐transfer catalyst. The photopolymerization of various vinyl monomers, such as styrene, acrylamide, acrylic acid, and acrylonitrile was successfully initiated by eosin moieties on the silica surface in the presence of ascorbic acid as a reducing agent and by oxygen. The corresponding polymers were grafted from the silica surface. The grafting efficiency (percentage of grafted polymer to total polymer formed) in the photoinitiation system was much larger than that in the radical polymerization initiated by surface radicals; these radicals were formed by the thermal decomposition of azo groups introduced onto the silica surface. It was found that the polymer‐grafted silica gave stable dispersions in good solvents of grafted polymer and the wettability of the surfaces can be easily controlled by grafting of polymers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 600–606, 2005     

Grafting of polymers onto and/or from silica surface during the polymerization of vinyl monomers in the presence of γ‐ray‐irradiated silica

The effects of radicals on silica surface, which were formed by γ‐ray irradiation, on the polymerization of vinyl monomers were investigated. It was found that the polymerization of styrene was remarkably retarded in the presence of γ‐ray‐irradiated silica above 60 °C, at which thermal polymerization of styrene is readily initiated. During the polymerization, a part of polystyrene formed was grafted onto the silica surface but percentage of grafting was very small. On the other hand, no retardation of the polymerization of styrene was observed in the presence of γ‐ray‐irradiated silica below 50 °C; the polymerization tends to accelerate and polystyrene was grafted onto the silica surface. Poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (MMA) were also grafted onto the surface during the polymerization in the presence of γ‐ray‐irradiated silica. The grafting of polymers onto the silica surface was confirmed by thermal decomposition GC‐MS. It was considered that at lower temperature, the grafting based on the propagation of polystyrene from surface radical (“grafting from” mechanism) preferentially proceeded. On the contrary, at higher temperature, the coupling reaction of propagating polymer radicals with surface radicals (“grafting onto” mechanism) proceeded to give relatively higher molecular weight polymer‐grafted silica. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2972–2979, 2006     

Rh-Mn-Li/SiO2催化剂上CO加氢制C2含氧化合物:载体硅烷化程度的影响

以三甲基氯硅烷为硅烷化试剂,对硅胶进行不同程度硅烷化预处理,采用浸渍法制备了其负载的Rh-Mn-Li催化剂,用于CO加氢制C₂含氧化合物的反应,并运用红外光谱、N₂吸附-脱附法、C含量测定、透射电镜、H₂程序升温还原和程序升温表面反应等手段对载体和催化剂进行了表征。结果表明,制得的不同硅烷化程度硅胶织构性质变化不大,它们负载的催化剂上Rh平均粒径均在3nm左右,硅烷化对催化剂吸附CO的形态和Rh的还原性能的影响均很小,但随着载体硅烷化程度的提高,催化剂上Rh解离CO的能力增加,因而其活性逐渐增加,且不影响C₂含氧化合物的选择性。     

Electron spin resonance studies of spin-labelled polymers—18: Adsorption of spin-labelled poly(vinyl acetate) on silica surfaces

The adsorption of spin-labelled poly(vinyl acetate) from dilute solutions in ethyl acetate, chloroform and toluene onto three silica adsorbents of different surface silanol contents was studied. The adsorption capacities of the three silica samples, which decreased with decreasing surface silanol content, were dependent on the nature of the solvent, being greatest in the poor solvent toluene and least in the good solvent ethyl acetate. The ESR spectra of the polymer adsorbed on the silica of highest silanol content suggested that the polymer had a relatively flat conformation when toluene or chloroform was solvent and a more looped conformation when ethyl acetate was solvent. With the silica of intermediate silanol content, the polymer adsorbed from chloroform solution also had a loopy conformation. The silica of lowest silanol content was prepared by treating the first silica absorbent with trimethylchlorosilane. The line-shapes in the ESR spectrum of the labelled polymer adsorbed on this modified silica indicated a change in mode of adsorption.     

Diffusion of cyclohexane in native and surface-modified mesoporous glasses

Diffusion of cyclohexane in mesoporous silica materials with different degrees of surface silanization has been probed by means of pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance. The self-diffusion coefficients have been measured at various pore fillings from about 10% of one monolayer coverage to complete pore saturation by the capillary-condensed phase. It is found that the surface modification, namely grafting of dimethyloctadecylmethoxysilane molecules to the silica surface, reduces diffusivities of guest molecules as compared to the native sample. The contribution of the Knudsen molecular diffusion to the measured diffusivity has been assessed using the model of fast molecular exchange between the adsorbed phase on the pore walls and the molecules in the gaseous phase in the pore interior. The diffusivity data were correlated with the degree of the surface modification, with the latter being probed by measuring ¹H and ¹³C spectra using magic angle spinning (MAS) solid state NMR, nitrogen adsorption and thermogravimetry.     

Energetics of lysozyme adsorption on mesostructured cellular foam silica: effect of salt concentration

The heat of lysozyme adsorption on mesostructured cellular foam (MCF) silica was measured using flow microcalorimetry (FMC) to investigate the influence of a neutral salt, sodium sulfate. At concentrations up to 0.5 M sodium sulfate, a complex initial exotherm was followed by an endotherm. Protein surface coverage, the magnitudes of the exothermic heat signals and the magnitudes of the net heat of adsorption increased with sodium sulfate concentration. These observations suggest that electrostatic interactions are the principal driving force at low ionic strengths; van der Waals interactions become dominant at higher salt concentrations. Each exotherm could be deconvoluted into two exotherms, indicating multiple modes of lysozyme attachment to the silica surface. The endothermic peak, associated with protein desorption, disappeared at the highest sodium sulfate concentration (1.0 M), indicating irreversible adsorption of the protein on the MCF silica surface. The data are consistent with an adsorption mechanism in which the initial attachment of lysozyme to the surface is followed by a reorientation and formation of a secondary or stronger attachment to the surface.     

Grafting of hyperbranched cyclotriphosphazene polymer onto silica nanoparticle and carbon black surfaces

The surface grafting of hyperbranched cyclotriphosphazene polymer onto silica nanoparticles and carbon black was investigated. The grafting of hyperbranched cyclotriphosphazene polymer onto these surfaces was achieved by the repeated reactions of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene with hexamethylenediamine from surface amino groups and sodium carboxylate groups, respectively. The percentage of grafting onto silica and carbon black surfaces exceeded 760 and 390%, respectively. However, it proved difficult to achieve the theoretical growth of cyclotriphosphazene polymer from these surfaces because of steric hindrance. The introduction of sulfonic acid groups was successfully achieved by the reaction of terminal chlorophosphazene groups of the hyperbranched polymer‐grafted silica and carbon black with sulfanilic acid. The content of sulfonic acid groups introduced onto silica and carbon black surfaces was 4.98 mmol/g and 5.70 mmol/g, respectively. The sulfonated cyclotriphosphazene polymer‐grafted carbon black was extremely hydrophilic, yielding stable colloidal dispersions in polar solvents. The sulfonated cyclotriphosphazene polymer‐grafted silica and carbon black showed ionic conductivity, with the conductance increasing exponentially with increasing relative humidity and temperature. This study may offer important leads in the application of silica nanoparticles and carbon black in polymeric membranes for fuel cells. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 4218–4226, 2008     

Nanosegregated polymeric domains on the surface of Fe3O4@SiO2 particles

Multifunctional, biocompatible, and brush‐grafted poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PEG/PCL) nanoparticles have been synthesized, characterized, and used as vehicles for transporting hydrophobic substances in water. For anchoring the polymer mixed brushes, we used magnetic‐silica particles of 40 nm diameter produced by the reverse microemulsion method. The surface of the silica particle was functionalized with biocompatible polymer brushes, which were synthesized by the combination of “grafting to” and “grafting from” techniques. PEG was immobilized on the particles surface, by “grafting to,” whereas PCL was growth by ROP using the “grafting from” approach. By varying the synthetic conditions, it was possible to control the amount of PCL anchored on the surface of the nanoparticles and consequently the PEG/PCL ratio, which is a vital parameter connected with the arrangement of the polymer brushes as well as the hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance of the particles. Thus, adjusting the PEG/PCL ratio, it was possible to obtain a system formed by PEG and PCL chains grafted on the particle's surface that collapsed in segregated domains depending on the solvent used. For instance, the nanoparticles are colloidally stable in water due to the PEG domains and at the same time are able to transport, entrapped within the PCL portion, highly water‐insoluble drugs. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 2966–2975     

Reconcentration of diluted polymer solutions by full adsorption/desorption procedure: II. Desorption of macromolecules by a narrow pulse of displacer

Diluted polymer solutions can be effectively reconcentrated applying full adsorption/desorption processes. Macromolecules from diluted solutions are quantitatively retained within a bed of appropriate adsorbent. Next, the polymer is released by a high‐strength desorbing liquid that is introduced into the sorbent bed as a narrow pulse. To evaluate the above reconcentration procedure, medium‐polarity polymers, mainly poly(methyl methacrylate)s of various molar mass distributions were chosen as model species. Nonporous silica was used as an adsorbent, toluene and chloroform as adsorbing liquids, and tetrahydrofuran as a desorbing liquid in an HPLC‐like apparatus. The concentration profiles of both the desorbing liquid pulse and desorbed polymer were monitored with the usual LC detectors. On‐line size exclusion chromatography was employed in selected cases to determine molar mass and molar mass distribution of desorbed macromolecules. The effect of some experimental parameters on the reconcentration efficiency was elucidated, viz. the nature of the sample solvent‐adsorbing liquid, flow rate of desorbing liquid, molar mass, molar mass distribution, and nature of reconcentrated polymer, as well as relations among the amount of the polymer to be reconcentrated and the volume of the desorbing liquid pulse. It is shown that very high reconcentration factors can be readily obtained by the full adsorption–desorption procedure if the experimental conditions are carefully optimized. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 267–275, 1999     

反气相色谱法测定锌镁铝类水滑石的表面性能

采用水热合成法制备了锌镁铝类水滑石(ZnMgAl-HTLC),利用X射线衍射仪(XRD)对ZnMgAl-HTLC的晶体结构进行了表征,并以一系列非极性和极性分子为探针分子,采用反气相色谱法(IGC)研究了ZnMgAl-HTLC的表面性能.结果表明:XRD特征衍射峰窄、尖、高,水热合成法能够制得纯度较高的ZnMgAl-HTLC; ZnMgAl-HTLC表面吸附自由能小于零,表面色散自由能最大为6.02 mJ/m²,酸碱作用自由能最大为5.33 kJ/mol,吸附焓为43.6 kJ/mol,吸附熵为0.15 kJ/mol.本文的反气相色谱方法对研究锌镁铝类水滑石的表面性能具有重要的指导意义.