Preparation of uniform zirconia-based support materials for high performance liquid chromatography

Zirconia-based high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) packing materials were prepared with oil emulsion method (OEM), modified oil emulsion method (MOEM) and layer-by-layer self-assembly (LbL SA) technique. Attention was focused on the particle size distribution in this study. ZrO2 sphere particles prepared by OEM were 2 similar to 30 mu m in diameter, and those prepared by MOEM are 6 similar to 15 mu m. The particle size distribution of these ZrO2 sphere particles depends greatly on stirring speed and the strength of liquid membrane. The particle size distribution of ZrO2/SiO2 sphere particles, which are synthesized by LbL SA technique, is 3 similar to 5 mu m. The uniformity of ZrO2/SiO2 sphere particles depends mainly on the particle size distribution of the core SiO2 spheres. Experiment data show that more uniform packing particles were provided by layer-by-layer self-assembly technique.