Rapid Preparation of C18 Monoliths for Micro‐column Separation Using Ultraviolet and Microwave Irradiation

An organic‐based monolith with long alkyl chain ligands was prepared by UV photo‐initiation using (a) 1‐octadecene as a functional monomer, (b) ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as the cross‐linking agent, (c) 1‐propanol, 1,4‐butanediol and dimethylformamide as triporogenic solvents, and (d) Irgacure 1800 as the initiator. The monoliths containing a high fraction of 1‐octadecene possessed a better total porosity, improved permeability, and result in faster separation. Similar monolithic capillary was quickly fabricated in 3 min by microwave irradiation using azobisisobutyronitrile as the thermal initiator. Conventional polyimide‐coated capillaries were used instead of expensive UV‐transparent capillaries in both methods.