A New Approach to the Study of Textile Properties with Liquid Chromatography:Comparison of Void Volume and Surface Area of Cotton and Ramie Using a Rolled Fabric Stationary Phase

A novel rolled stationary phase using whole fabric has been developed for liquid chromatography. This paper describes the column and its properties and use in characterizing pore volumes of the whole fabric. The logistic model gives a good fit of the measured void volume data obtained by size exclusion chromatography. With the help of this function, both pore size and surface area distribution of cotton and ramie fabrics can be obtained. The relationship between pore shape and surface area is discussed. Cotton has 100 to 200% more void volume and surface area than ramie (for all sizes of pores). Increasing the temperature from 30 to 60°C does not significantly influence either the total void volume or surface area of cotton and ramie. The void volume and surface area of cotton as determined by this rolled fabric column method are comparable to previously reported data.