Using N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) as a monomer, a core–shell material was successfully prepared via
in situ polymerization on the surface of silica microspheres (named NIPAM@Sil), which acts as a hydrophilic
interaction chromatography (HILIC) stationary phase. A method for the in situ polymerization of polymer
monomers on a silica surface has been developed. It was shown using scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
that NIPAM is evenly distributed on the surface of the silica. The synthesized NIPAM@Sil possesses a polar
acylamino group arising from the polymerization of NIPAM. As demonstrated by the hydrophilicity, NIPAM@
Sil showed excellent HILIC performance for the separation of hydrophilic compounds. This method provides
a simple approach for the preparation of a polymer coated silica core–shell stationary phase.