Effect of the acylating agent on the selectivity of anion-exchange resins and separation efficiency

Anion-exchange resins have been prepared by a two-step process that comprises the acylation of polystyrene/divinylbenzene (PS/DVB) with 50% crosslinking and subsequent amination with trimethylamine. The spacer arm between the quaternary ammonium functionality and the polymer backbone in these resins contains three, four, or five carbon atoms. An increase in the spacer arm improves the separation efficiency, affects the selectivity, and produces more symmetric peaks.