Synthetic resins are one of the most used catalysts in the production of additives for gasoline fuelled cars. Ethers like MTBE (methyl-t-butylether), TAME (t-amylmethylether) or ETBE (ethyl-t-butylether) are now widely used to enhance the anti-knock performance of the fuels. Now more than 14,000,000 t per year of the above-mentioned ethers are produced world-wide. On the other hand there is much less use of catalytic ion exchange resins in the production of fine chemicals. Reasons might be selectivity aspects, the availability of resins in a shape which is well suited for technical reactors and a lack of knowledge with respect to the accessibility and stability of the active sites. In this study the preparation and characterisation of polymer/carrier composite components for catalytic applications is described. Monolithic rods for chemical reactions with simultaneous separation were prepared by a precipitation polymerisation process and investigated. The distribution of the cross-linker concentration across the particle radius is calculated based on co-polymerisation parameters and discussed. The active sites are sulfonic acid groups. The distribution of the active sites was measured by scanning electron microscopy. For the cyclisation reaction of 1,4-butanediol to tetrahydrofuran and water the application of rods as a monolithic chemical reactor was demonstrated.