title: The chromatography of poly(phenylene ether) on a porous graphitic carbon sorbent.
abstract: A Porous Graphitic Carbon (PGC) column was evaluated for the analysis of poly(phenylene ether) (PPE). This column appears particularly well-suited for the separation of this polymer. Conditions for the elution of PPE either in adsorption mode with chloroform or size exclusion with 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB) as eluent were established. Elution of homologous species is obtained in chloroform that follows Martin's rule. A separation based on a gradient consisting of a sequence of non-solvent (acetonitrile), solvent/adsorli (chloroform) provided the highest peak capacity. In TCB, it is possible to obtain rapid size-based separation: with a flow rate of 0.7ml/min, the run time is less than two minutes for a series of polystyrene standards. The PGC column performs remarkably well in this mode and may be a viable solution when a short analysis time is critical such as in a combinatorial laboratory or in a two-dimensional chromatograph. In addition to its value as a sorbent for polymer separation, this column also deserves the attention of the materials engineer. Indeed, the PGC sorbent can be used as a model to probe the interaction between polymers and graphitic fillers such as carbon nanotubes or graphite nanosheets.
authors.affiliation: SABIC, 1600 Industrial Blvd., Sugar Land, TX 77478, USA. Electronic address: Stephan.Moyses@SABIC.com.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moyses
authors.affiliation: SABIC, Urmonderbaan 22, Geleen 6160 AH Geleen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ginzburg
mesh_terms: D000097:Acetonitriles / Q000737:chemistry; D000327:Adsorption; D002623:Chemistry Techniques, Analytical / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D002722:Chlorobenzenes / Q000737:chemistry; D002725:Chloroform / Q000737:chemistry; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004986:Ether / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D004987:Ethers / Q000737:chemistry; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000097:Acetonitriles; D002722:Chlorobenzenes; D004987:Ethers; D011108:Polymers; D012997:Solvents; C009947:1,2,4-trichlorobenzene; D004986:Ether; D006108:Graphite; D002725:Chloroform; C032159:acetonitrile
keywords: LAC; Liquid adsorption chromatography; PGC; PPE; Poly(phenylene ether); Porous graphitic carbon; SEC; Size exclusion chromatography