Porous microspheres,copolymers of bis[4‐(2‐hydroxy‐ 3‐methacryloyloxypropoxy)phenyl]sulfide,and divinylbenzene as stationary phase for HPLC

Synthesis of highly crosslinked methacrylate copolymers of in form of microspheres is presented. They are prepared from tetrafunctional methacrylate derivative of bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)sulfide, bis4‐(2‐hydroxy‐3‐methacryloyloxypropoxy)phenyl]sulfide (BES‐DM), and divinylbenzene (DVB). In chemical structure of these copolymers exhibit hydroxyl and ester groups of hydrophilic nature. Additionally, copolymer contains sulfur atoms coming from BES‐DM monomer. Porous structure of the copolymers in the dry and wet state was studied. Microspheres possessing the largest pore volume and specific surface area were subjected to chromatographic investigations. The results show that polar functional groups existing in the chemical structure of the studied microspheres have influence on reversed‐phase HPLC retention mechanism. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009