Porous composite particulate materials, methods of making and using same, and related apparatuses

Abstract

In an embodiment, a porous composite particulate material includes a plurality of composite particles. Each composite particle includes an acid-base-resistant core particle at least partially surrounded by one or more layers of acid-base-resistant shell particles. The shell particles are adhered to the core particle by a polymeric layer. The shell particles and/or core particles may be made from an acid-base-resistant material that is stable in harsh chemical conditions. For example, the shell particles and/or core particles may be made from diamond, graphitic carbon, silicon carbide, boron nitride, tungsten carbide, combinations of the foregoing, or other acid-base-resistant materials. The porous composite particulate materials disclosed herein and related methods and devices may be used in separation technologies, including, but not limited to, chromatography, and solid phase extraction.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A porous composite particulate material, comprising:
 a plurality of composite particles, at least some the plurality of composite particles including,
 an acid-base-resistant core particle; 
 a plurality of acid-base-resistant shell particles forming a plurality of porous shell particle layers at least partially surrounding the acid-base-resistant core particle, wherein the plurality of acid-base-resistant shell particles include at least one of diamond or graphitic carbon; and 
 at least one polymer that is acid-base-resistant, each of the plurality of porous shell particle layers bonded to an adjacent one of the plurality of porous shell particle layers by a respective layer of the at least one polymer. 
   
     
     
         2 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one polymer is stable under the same mobile phase conditions as diamond. 
     
     
         3 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , wherein the acid-base-resistant core particle includes a diamond particle. 
     
     
         4 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one polymer is stable under the same mobile phase conditions as diamond, the acid-base-resistant shell particles include graphitic carbon, and the acid-base-resistant core particle includes a diamond particle. 
     
     
         5 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one polymer includes at least one amine polymer. 
     
     
         6 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 4 , wherein the respective layer of the at least one polymer is at least partially cross-linked. 
     
     
         7 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one polymer includes at least one amine polymer, and the respective layer of the at least one polymer is at least partially cross-linked. 
     
     
         8 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , wherein adjacent layers of the plurality of porous shell particle layers differ from one another by one or more of composition or size. 
     
     
         9 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , further comprising a layer of anionic polymer coated on at least a portion of the plurality of acid-base-resistant shell particles. 
     
     
         10 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , wherein adjacent porous shell layers of the plurality of porous shell particle layers include respective polymer coatings having a different polymeric material from one another. 
     
     
         11 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one polymer includes monomers that are convertible to amines. 
     
     
         12 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 11 , wherein the monomers are convertible to amines by one or more of deprotection, hydrolysis, or chemical transformation. 
     
     
         13 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one polymer includes monomers including oxazoline or polyoxazolines. 
     
     
         14 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one polymer includes poly(allylamine). 
     
     
         15 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one polymer includes one or more of a homopolymer or a copolymer. 
     
     
         16 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one polymer includes monomer units interspersed therein different from monomeric subunits of the at least one polymer. 
     
     
         17 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 16 , wherein the monomer units include 2-hydroxyethylacrylate, styrene, 1,3-butadiene, methyl methacrylate, methyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, dodecyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, 4-vinylbenzyl chloride, 4-(trifluoromethyl)styrene, 3-nitrostyrene, vinyl ether, or vinyl acetate 
     
     
         18 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , wherein a layer of the at least one polymer is at least partially cross-linked. 
     
     
         19 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of composite particles are bonded together. 
     
     
         20 . The porous composite particulate material of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of composite particles is in powder form. 
     
     
         21 . A separation apparatus, comprising:
 a vessel having an inlet and an outlet; and   a porous composite particulate material disposed within the vessel, the porous composite particulate material including,
 a plurality of composite particles, at least some the plurality of composite particles including:
 a plurality of acid-base-resistant shell particles forming a plurality of porous shell particle layers at least partially surrounding the acid-base-resistant core particle, wherein the plurality of acid-base-resistant shell particles include at least one of diamond or graphitic carbon; and 
 at least one polymer that is acid-base-resistant, each of the plurality of porous shell particle layers bonded to an adjacent one of the plurality of porous shell particle layers by a respective layer of the at least one polymer. 
 
   
     
     
         22 . A method for manufacturing a porous composite particulate material, the method comprising:
 providing a plurality of acid-base-resistant core particles and a plurality of acid-base-resistant shell particles, the plurality of acid-base-resistant shell particles including at least one of diamond or graphitic carbon;   coating at least a portion of the plurality of acid-base-resistant core particles, at least a portion of the plurality of acid-base-resistant shell particles, or combinations thereof with an acid-base-resistant polymer material; and   adhering a portion of the plurality of acid-base-resistant shell particles to each of the plurality of acid-base-resistant core particles with the acid-base-resistant polymer material to form a plurality of composite particles.