FTIR thermal analysis on organofunctionalized silica gel

Silica gel modified with organic groups is widely used as a stationary phase for liquid chromatography. Grafting synthesis can be used to obtain stable modified silica gel surfaces. In this work, silica gel (10 nm of pore diameter and surface area of 320 m(2) g(-1)) was chemically modified with 3-chloropropyltrimethoxysilane or 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane and reacted with aniline, p-anisidine, benzylamine and 3-phenylpropylchloride in order to yield aromatic groups immobilized on the silica gel surface. Infrared spectroscopy was utilized for characterization of the aromatic groups grafted on the silica gel surface, using a quartz cell. The solids were heated at several temperatures in high vacuum and the infrared band areas of the organic groups were used to evaluate the thermal stability.