Highly reproducible fabrication of porous layer open tubular (PLOT) structures in fused silica capillaries is often challenging; thus, methods to measure layer thickness growth in real time represent a powerful tool for the production of such columns. The work presented herein demonstrates the application of optical absorbance in the near-infrared (near IR) range for the in-process measurement of polymer layer growth inside fused silica capillaries during the fabrication of PLOT columns. The proposed technique can be used for both on- and off-line measurements of layer thickness for thermal- and photo- initiated polymerisation methods, performed in either polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)- or polyimide-coated capillaries. Measurements of layer thickness were carried out at λ 700 nm, using 100 μm and 8 μm optical fibres, yielding relative standard deviation (%RSD) values of 27% and 22%, respectively.
History
Publication title
Separations
Issue
34
Pagination
1-11
ISSN
2297-8739
Department/School
School of Natural Sciences
Publisher
MDPIAG
Place of publication
Switzerland
Rights statement
Copyright 2016 the authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/