Fine control of the porous structure and chromatographic properties of monodisperse macroporous poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) beads prepared using polymer porogens

The porous structure of monodisperse macroporous beads can be controlled by using soluble polymers with well-defined structural characteristics as part of the porogenic mixture. In general, the use of linear polystyrene as a porogen in the preparation of poly (styrene-co-divinylbenzene) beads shifts the pore size distribution towards larger pores. While a direct correlation between pore size and molecular weight of the porogen has been established, the chemical composition of the polymer porogen has no effect on the porous and chromatographic properties of the beads. These findings suggest that the average molar volume of the porogenic system is important while the miscibility of the polymer porogen with the crosslinked polymer that is formed is of little relevance. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.