Porous silica particles as chromatographic separation media: A review

Abstract

Porous silica particles are the most prevailing raw material for stationary phases of liquid chromatography. During a long period of time, various methodologies for production of porous silica particles have been proposed, such as crashing and sieving of xerogel, traditional dry or wet process preparation of conventional spherical particles, preparation of hierarchical mesoporous particles by template-mediated pore formation, repeated formation of a thin layer of porous silica upon nonporous silica core (core-shell particles), and formation of specific silica monolith followed by grinding and calcination. Recent developments and applications of useful porous silica particles will be covered in this review. Discussion on sub-3 μm silica particles including nonporous silica particles, carbon or metal oxide clad silica particles, and molecularly imprinted silica particles, will also be included. Next, the individual preparation methods and their feasibilities will be collectively and critically compared and evaluated, being followed by conclusive remarks and future perspectives.