Polymerized high internal phase emulsion monolithic material: a novel stationary phase of thin layer chromatography

A polymerized high internal phase emulsion (polyHIPE) was prepared using styrene, divinylbenzene and butyl acrylate as raw material and employed as stationary phase of thin layer chromatography (TLC). SEM, mercury intrusion porosimetry and FT-IR spectrum were employed to characterize the pore structure and chemical composition. To verify the feasibility as stationary phase of TLC, identification of plant extracts, Chinese herbs and traditional Chinese medicine were practiced on the prepared polyHIPE. Relative retardation factor (α), theoretical plate number (Nplate) and resolution (R) were used to evaluate the performance of TLC. Large difference in α value make it is feasible to optimize the chromatographic condition. The resolution R and Nplate indicates that the introduction of BA in polyHIPE facilitates the preparation and improves the performance for TLC separation. Our results show that polyHIPE monolith is a reusable stationary phase of TLC with high performance.