Porous Organic Cage-Embedded C10-Modified Silica as HPLC Stationary Phase and Its Multiple Separation Functions

Reduced imine cage (RCC3) was covalently bonded to the surface of silica spheres, and then the secondary amine group of the molecular cage was embedded in non-polar C10 for modification to prepare a novel RCC3-C10@silica HPLC stationary phase with multiple separation functions. Through infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and nitrogen adsorption–desorption characterization, it was confirmed that RCC3-C10 was successfully bonded to the surface of silica spheres. The resolution of RCC3-C10@silica in reversed-phase separation mode is as high as 2.95, 3.73, 3.27 and 4.09 for p-phenethyl alcohol, 1-phenyl-2-propanol, p-methylphenethyl alcohol and 1-phenyl-1-propanol, indicating that the stationary phase has excellent chiral resolution performance. In reversed-phase and hydrophilic separation modes, RCC3-C10@silica realized the separation and analysis of a total of 70 compounds in 8 classes of Tanaka mixtures, alkylbenzene rings, polyphenyl rings, phenols, anilines, sulfonamides, nucleosides and flavonoids, and the analysis of a variety of chiral and achiral complex mixtures have been completed at the same time. Compared with the traditional C18 commercial column, RCC3-C10@silica exhibits better chromatographic separation selectivity, aromatic selectivity and polar selectivity. The multifunctional separation mechanism exhibited by the stationary phase originates from various synergistic effects such as hydrophobic interaction, π-π interaction, hydrogen bonding and steric interaction provided by RCC3 and C10 groups. This work provides flexible selectivity and application prospects for novel multi-separation functional chromatographic columns.