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One-Step Solvothermal Synthesis of Sub-2-µm Sea Urchin-Like TiO2 Microspheres for High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Stationary Phase

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Abstract

Sub-2-µm sea-urchin-like TiO2 microspheres were prepared through the one-step solvothermal method. Results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) show that there are a lot of nanorods coming out from the center of the TiO2 microsphere, making it look like a sea urchin. The morphology and structure of these microspheres are very suitable for chromatographic packing. During the separation of inorganic anions on this new stationary phase, the retention mechanism is electrostatic interaction, and the pH of the mobile phase plays an important role in retention behaviors. With this new stationary phase for separation of organic anions and nucleobases, Lewis acid–base interaction is more outstanding, which can cause peak broadening and tail for larger conjugated structure compounds. The separation of aromatic hydrocarbons on this new stationary phase demonstrates that Lewis acid–base interaction has a favorable influence on the separation of electron-rich aromatic hydrocarbons under normal phase chromatographic conditions.

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Abbreviations

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

SEM:

Scanning electron microscope

TEM:

Transmission electron microscopy

XRD:

X-ray diffractometer

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Acknowledgements

Financial supports from the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 2015344), the CAS “Light of West China” Program, the Health research fund of Gansu Province (GSWSKY-2014-06), and the Inner Fund of Gansu Provincial Hospital (16GSSY5-1) are gratefully acknowledged.

Funding

This study was funded by the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 2015344), the CAS “Light of West China” Program, the Health research fund of Gansu Province (GSWSKY-2014-06), and the Inner Fund of Gansu Provincial Hospital (16GSSY5-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Chemistry of Northwestern Plant Resources and Key Laboratory for Natural Medicine of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Ling Mei, Shuai Wang, Yong Guo & Xiaojing Liang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Ling Mei

  3. Department of Pharmacy, Gansu Provincial Hospital, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Hao Tang

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  1. Ling Mei
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  4. Yong Guo
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Correspondence to Yong Guo or Xiaojing Liang.

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Mei, L., Tang, H., Wang, S. et al. One-Step Solvothermal Synthesis of Sub-2-µm Sea Urchin-Like TiO2 Microspheres for High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Stationary Phase. Chromatographia 85, 365–371 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-022-04140-4

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