Tuning preparation conditions towards optimized separation performance of thermally polymerized organo-silica monolithic columns in capillary liquid chromatography.

Tuning of preparation conditions, such as variations in the amount of a porogen, concentration of an aqueous acid catalyst, and adjustment in polymerization temperature and time, towards optimized chromatographic performance of thermally polymerized monolithic capillaries prepared from 3-(methacryloyloxy)propyltrimethoxysilane has been carried out. Performance of capillary columns in reversed-phase liquid chromatography was assessed utilizing various sets of solutes. Results describing hydrophobicity, steric selectivity, and extent of hydrogen bonding enabled comparison of performance of hybrid monolithic columns prepared under thermal (TSG) and photopolymerized (PSG) conditions.

The two-step mechanochemical synthesis of porphyrins.

Porphyrin synthesis under solvent-free conditions represents the "greening" of a traditional synthesis that normally requires large amounts of organic solvent, and has hindered the industrial-scale synthesis of this useful class of molecules. We have found that the four-fold acid-catalysed condensation of aldehyde and pyrrole to yield a tetra-substituted porphyrin is possible through mechanochemical techniques, without a solvent present. This represents one of the still-rare examples of carbon-carbon bond formation by mechanochemistry.