Synthesis of imprinted monolithic column with high content of monomers in ionic liquid

Abstract

A MIP monolith with good permeability was successfully achieved using a strategy involving a high content of monomers in a [BMIM][BF₄]-based green solvent. The imprinted monolith was prepared with ketoprofen or naproxen as a template, 4-vinylpyridine as the functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a crosslinking monomer. Column efficiency and permeability of the MIP monolith can be tuned by a mixture of [BMIM][BF₄]/DMSO. The approach allowed the creation of an imprinting system in a short polymerization time (<1.5 h) and higher imprinting factor (8.64) than the MIP prepared in a traditional volatile solvent. The texture and morphology of the MIP monoliths with a high content of monomers, such as median pore diameter, pore volumes, and pore size distributions, were studied. The influence of polymerization parameters, such as the ratio of template to functional monomer, and the ratio of comonomer to functional monomer on the column performance of the resultant MIP was also investigated.