Preparation and characterization of a latex-agglomerated anion exchange chromatographic stationary phase

Allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) was selected as the copolymerization monomer to prepare a copolymer latex-agglomerated anion exchange chromatography stationary phase for ion chromatography (IC). First, allyl glycidyl ether-styrene (AGE-ST) copolymer latex was prepared by the saponification emulsion polymerization method. It was then quaternized by reacting alternatively with methylamine (MA) and 1,4-butanedioldiglycidyl ether (BDDGE) and agglomerated on the surface of sulfonated polystyrene-divinylbenzene (PS-DVB) microspheres to obtain a copolymer latex-agglomerated anion exchange chromatography stationary phase. The stationary phase was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FT-IR and elemental analysis (EA). It was found that the diameters of the PS-DVB microsphere and AGE-ST copolymer latex were about 6 μm and 300 nm, respectively. The quaternized AGE-ST copolymer latex was successfully agglomerated on the surface of PS-DVB microspheres and the nitrogen content increased as quaternization time was increased. The chromatographic properties were evaluated by separating conventional anions and organic acids. The results showed that the quaternized AGE-ST copolymer latex-agglomerated PS-DVB anion exchange column exhibited good separation properties toward anions. Therefore, based on the good pH toleration and reaction activity of the newly developed stationary phase, it was concluded that using AGE as a monomer was a good choice.