- A new method has been developed to create large volumes (over 1000 mL) of crack-free hierarchically porous silica monoliths by enlarging small pores and reducing capillary forces during solvent evaporation.
- The thermal conditions during the fabrication process were carefully controlled to ensure uniform heat distribution, leading to monoliths with better structural consistency.
- Tests confirmed that smaller columns made from different sections of the large monolith had similar chromatographic performance, indicating homogeneity; initial results also showed promise for these silica monoliths in rapid peptide and protein separation.