Novel Carbon Media for Separation Science

Ohio State University Research Foundation -Do Not Use, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

The project of Professor Susan Olesik of Ohio State University, supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry program, is to develop chromatographic media capable of separating compounds that differ minimally in their structure. Recent studies on the mechanisms of retention on glassy carbon (GC) have shown that glassy carbon is capable of interacting strongly with both polar and nonpolar analytes through different retention mechanisms. Accordingly the chromatographic applications of glassy carbon have expanded substantially. Also, solid adsorbents are typically very good candidates for the separation of compounds that differ minimally in structure. Due to the polymer precursor and the method of production, there is presently only one commercially-available glassy carbon material for the separation of compounds and it is limited to the configuration of porous particles. New precursor polymers, diacetylenic polymers, allow the production of glassy carbon at low temperatures with minimal weight loss. These precursor polymers are also readily soluble in organic solvents allowing the production of continuous low temperature glassy carbon films. In addition, the microcrystallite size and the extent of graphitization can be varied with film processing temperatures. Furthermore, low temperature glassy carbon (LTGC) surfaces can be made that include noncarbon atoms covalently bound in its structure. Fabricated chromatographic media such as these have potential applications to the separation and purification of a large number of chemicals, including pharmaceuticals. This work will study the surface chemistry of the low temperature glassy carbons (LTGC) produced using select diacetylenic polymers and will develop new selective chromatographic media based on the surface chemistry. LTGCs are expected to be distinctive and should provide unique chromatographic selectivity and extensive applications. Pure carbon LTGC, perfluorinated LTGC, and nitrogen-containing LTGC films will be characterized for use in liquid chromatography. New configurations of GC, specifically nonporous LTGC particles, will be compared to the thin film media.