Dispersion states of porous inorganic materials in polymer blends observed by inverse gas chromatography

Inverse gas chromatography (i.g.c.) of columns prepared with a polymer blend of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and polystyrene (PS) in the presence of pulverized porous inorganic materials has been studied. Information on the inorganics-polymer interaction was obtained from the change in the Z-shaped curve observed in the retention diagram. Inorganic materials except active carbon selectively incorporated PEO into their pores. The incorporation ability increased with increasing surface area of inorganic material. Molecular sieve 5A was scarcely able to incorporate PEO into its pores in spite of its large surface area, and this was ascribed to its small pore diameter. Active carbon selectively incorporated PS into its pores. Irreversible adsorption of a solute on active carbon was a dominant process in i.g.c. measurement for the column prepared with polymer and active carbon.