Critical assessment of particle size analysis of porous silica microbead high-performance liquid chromatographic packings by photosedimentation

Abstract Particle size analysis of commercial spherical silica packings of graduated pore size by means of photosedimentation (PS) is critically examined and compared to results obtained by microscopy. To avoid particle fractionation, the suspension prepared for PS measurements should be subjected to gentle ultrasonic treatment. For computing the particle size distribution, the effective density of solvent-filled porous particles has to be inserted into the Stokes equation. Reproducibility of d p , estimated by PS is found to be largely dependent upon the accuracy of the specific pore volume determination. Satisfactory agreement of data between PS and microscopy is obtained for all products…