Preparation and Characterization of Titania Microspheres and Their Application in a Liquid Chromatography Stationary Phase

Titania microspheres were synthesized using hydrothermal methods to exploit a new liquid chromatography stationary phase. The prepared titania microspheres were approximately 7 μm in diameter, and the particle size distribution was relatively narrow and uniform. Furthermore, the average specific surface area was 276.0 m2·g−1, the average pore volume was approximately 0.25 mL·g−1, and the pore diameter was approximately 35.9 nm for sintering titania microspheres. These parameters indicate that the titania microspheres prepared for this study have excellent surface properties for chromatography. Additionally, columns filled with the titania microspheres were able to separate basic compounds, including benzene, nitrobenzene and o-nitroanisole. It could be proposed that the titania microspheres prepared for this study would be a promising stationary phase for liquid chromatography.