Applications of ordered porous materials in chromatography separation and analysis

Chromatography， a highly efficient and selective separation technology， is broadly applicable and exhibits a range of developmental prospects. The stationary phase of a chromatography column is the most important component of chromatography； hence， the development of advanced stationary-phase materials that exhibit highly resolved separation performance is a continuing research hotspot in this field. In this regard， ordered porous materials （OPMs） are advantageous owing to their precisely controllable pore sizes， morphologies， and regularly arranged pore structures， which are capable of accurately sieving molecules of different sizes and shapes， and reducing disordered molecular diffusion in the flow path. Such materials overcome the limitation of separation accuracy of traditional chromatographic materials， and effectively solve the problems faced by scientific research and industry in the purification of raw materials and products. Over the past few decades， a variety of new OPMs have been developed and used as stationary-phase matrices in chromatography columns. These materials have efficiently and rapidly separated homologues， isomers， isotopes， and other substances with similar properties， and have delivered excellent chromatographic separation and analysis results. In this review， we first discuss the influence of ordered porous structures on column efficiency and resolution during chromatographic separation from a theoretical perspective， which provides a basis for the use of OPMs as stationary phases in chromatography. This review then summarizes research progress on several different OPM types for use in chromatographic separation and analysis applications， including metal organic frameworks （MOFs）， covalent organic frameworks （COFs）， porous organic cages （POCs）， mesoporous silica materials， block copolymer （BCP） assemblies， and high internal-phase emulsion polymers （PolyHIPEs）. The review concludes by discussing current challenges faced by chromatographic OPMs as well as directions for future development.