Abstract: The effect of temperature on the chiral separation of the molecular imprinting polymer was investigated and the thermodynamic parameters were calculated. It was found that the chiral separation process was enthalpy-controlled. Increasing the temperature decreases the capacity factor and chiral selectivity factor. The interactions between the analyte and the molecular imprinting chiral stationary phase were both non-specific and specific, and only the difference of specific interaction results in the chiral separation. The imprinting cavities affected the thermodynamic parameters dramatically. The rebinding of the imprinted molecule into the imprinting cavities was favorable in view of energy and configuration because of their best compatibleness.

Key words: Molecular imprinting polymer, Chiral stationary phase, Chiral separation mechanism, Thermodynamic parameter