Distorted solvent peaks in capillary GC: A symptom of porous column surfaces

Many uncoated precolumns, and to a lesser extent separation columns, strongly retain some of the solvent. Retarded release of such solvent elevates the baseline after the solvent peak and causes ugly “humps” of eluted solvent as the temperature is increased. The problem is probably a result of retention by a porous surface, e.g. surfaces obtained by leaching or hydrothermal treatment of capillaries prior to silylation. It is assumed that other problems with capillary columns can be explained by the same mechanism, including: a kind of adsorption including apolar compounds, and “ghost” peaks as well as “memory” effects. Fused silica capillaries are superior to glass, but even for these special procedures are required in order to achieve thorough deactivation of the internal surface without introducing porosity.     

Deactivation of fused silica capillary columns with phenylhydrosiloxanes

In this work, an investigation of new organosilicon hydride reagents with phenyl functional groups for deactivation and surface modification of fused silica capillary columns is described. Different reagents were tested for their ability to deactivate the fused silica surface, and actual critical surface tension measurements were made using the capillary rise method. The deactivation procedure required lower optimum temperatures than conventional methods. Deactivated capillaries and coated capillary columns were prepared and tested for reproducibility, efficiency, and surface inertness towards basic and acidic compounds at the low nanogram level.     

Enantioseparation of benzoins and enantiomer migration reversal of hydrobenzoin in capillary zone electrophoresis with dual cyclodextrin systems and borate complexation

Rapid, precise, accurate, and reproducible methodology using capillary electrophoresis (CE) with dynamically coated capillaries for the analysis of heroin and its basic impurities and adulterants is presented. Highly selective determination of the above solutes is obtained by analyzing the same sample preparation by two CE methods. For the determination of heroin, its basic impurities and basic adulterants, dynamic coating of the capillary surface is accomplished using a commercially available reagent kit with an added cyclodextrin ((CD) polycation coating followed by polyanion coating with dimethyl-beta-cyclodextrin or hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin). The addition of a cyclodextrin to the run buffer significantly improves the separation of these solutes. Neutral, acidic, and weakly basic adulterants which migrate near or after t0 do not interfere with the more mobile basic solutes. The determination of neutral, acidic, and weakly basic adulterants in heroin is accomplished using a modification of the above commercially available reagent kit. After first coating with a polycation, a negative coating is obtained using a surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate. Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) with dynamically coated capillaries gives an excellent separation of the neutral, acidic, and weakly basic solutes, with considerably shorter run times compared to conventional MEKC. In addition for this system, most basic solutes in heroin have longer migration times than the uncharged and acidic compounds.     

Flexible soft glass capillary columns vs. flexible fused silica capillary columns for gas chromatography-a critique

The gas chromatographic use of flexible thin walled soft glass capillary columns coated with non-polar stationary phases is compared to similar columns made of fused silica glass. With non-polar soft glass columns, the use of surface roughening viagaseous HCI followed by a Carbowax 20 M pretreatment gave adsorptive phenomena, and thermal instability. With very polar soft glass columns where a variety of cyanopropyl silicone phases were coated directly onto the NaCI crystal matrix, adsorptive effects were again prominent and frequent break-down in film stability with time, was also observed. These undesirable effects were due to the presence of metal oxides in the soft glass. Attempts to remove these materials from the thin walled soft glass surface by means of acid leaching produced significant brittleness. This deleterious result was further increased by attempts at high temperature silylation or polysiloxane deactivation. In sharp contrast, the fused silica surface was essentially free of metal oxides and the surface silanol groups are easily neutralized by silylation or polysiloxane deactivation techniques. No brittleness was observed following these procedures. An increasing series of high molecular weight, viscous, polymeric vinyl containing non-polar and highly polar stationary phases have been produced which readily wet the surface of the fused silica and are easily crosslinked in the presence of free radical generators. These columns are essentially free of all the problems noted with flexible thin walled soft glass. When all of the parameters involved in the fabrication of a glass capillary column are assessed, it appears at this time, that the flexible fused silica glass column with cross linked phases approaches the “ideal” capillary column.     

Determination of adsorption by fluorescence in gas chromatography

PMBF₂, a pyrromethene pigment, can be used in gas chromatography. Because of its fluorescence, adsorption sites on glass columns and connections can be traced in situ. The compound can be employed to check the inertness of glass surfaces after deactivation procedures. Some applications are described.     

Description of a Method for Automated Determination of Organic Pollutants in Water

Abstract

A method for automated determination of 73 organic pollutants in water is described. The compounds, which are key representatives for different types of pollutants are determined in two chromatographic runs. 11 halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons are determined using capillary GC equipped with electron capture detector. The remaining pollutants, representing both basic/neutral and acidic compounds are determined by using GC/MS combined with an automated search computer program. The majority of the compounds have a limit of quantitation at 1 ig/1 or lower. The precision of the GC method is in the range of 1.8% to 4.3%, with an average of 3.2%. The precision for compounds determined by GC/MS is in the range of 1% to 38%, with an average of 14%.

So far 30 water samples representing both polluted fjord areas as well as effluents from municipal treatment plants, refineries, petrochemical industries and metallurgic industries have been analysed. The method has been found to be an interesting alternative to traditional methods for monitoring water quality, and has demonstrated its potential both as a screening method for detecting “hot spots” as well as for routine monitoring of specific hazardous compounds.     

Deactivation of fused silica capillary columns with cyanopropylhydrosiloxanes

A method is described for surface deactivation and modification of fused silica capillary columns with a cyanopropyl-containing reagent. The deactivation procedure involved a dehydrocondensation reaction between a bis(cyanopropyl)methylhydropolysiloxane reagent and surface silanol groups at an optimum temperature of only 250°C. Actual critical surface tension measurements were made using the capillary rise method. Excellent deactivation for acidic and basic compounds at the low ng level, and wettability for nonpolar and polar polysiloxane stationary phases were obtained. A procedure was developed to remove acidic impurities that are present in polar stationary phases.     

Selective modification of the acid-base properties of ceria by supported Au

Au supported on CeO(2) prepared by deposition-precipitation with urea leads to a basic catalyst. Au acts in two ways as surface modifier. First, Au selectively interacts with Ce(4+) cations by either blocking access to or reducing Ce(4+) to Ce(3+). Second, the resulting Au atoms (presumably as Au(+) ions) act as soft, weak Lewis acid sites stabilizing carbanion intermediates and enhancing hydride abstraction in the dehydrogenation of alcohols. In consequence, the thus-synthesized basic catalyst catalyzes the dehydrogenation of propan-2-ol to acetone with high efficiency and without notable deactivation. Additionally, the dehydration pathway of propan-2-ol is eliminated, as Au also quantitatively blocks access to strongly acidic Ce(4+) ions or reduces them to Ce(3+).     

Deactivation of silica surfaces with a silanol-terminated polysiloxane; structural sharacterization by inverse gas chromatography and solid-state NMR

Retention gape deactivated with Silicone OV-1701-OH show good chromatographic performance and remarkable stability against water induced stationary phase degradrdation. In an attempt to better understand the findamentals off the deactivation process using silanol terminated polysiloxanes, a fumed silica was deactivated with Silicon OV-1701-OH. In contrast to fused silic capillaries, fumed silica (Aerosil A-200) can be studied by ²⁹Si cross-polarization magic-angle-spinning (CPMAS) NMR, thus serving as a model substrate for fused silica. Retention data from inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilurion and ²⁹Si CP MAS NMR data of five Aerosil phases, differing in residual silanol surface concentration, are correlated with the aim of validating this approach for stationary phase characterization. A comparatively detailed model of the deactivating polymer layer that explains the observed absorption activities is deduced. Surface silanols are shown to play a key role in the polymer layer, the structure of which is of primary importance for the absorption behavior after deactivation. Contrary to common belief, the absolute silanol surface concentration after deativation is only of secondary importance for the overall absorption activity. High silanol surface concentrations enhance degradation of the polysiloxane chains into small cyclic fragments as well as subsequent absorption and immobolization to the silica substrate surface. The mobility of linear polysiloxane chains in the kHz regime (as determined bby NMR cross-polarization dynamics) appears to determine the extent which the residual silanols are accessible for analytes. It is therefore anticipated that there is an optimum silanol surface concentration of fused silica surfaces to be deactivated with silanol terminated polysiloxanes; it should be lazrge enough to adsord polymer fragments, but not large to avoid excessive residual silanol activity.     

Liquid crystal stationary phases for gas chromatography and supercritical fluid chromatography

Novel monomeric and polymeric liquid crystalline compounds were synthesized as stationary phases for gas chromatography (GC) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). Monomeric liquid crystalline compounds were used in packed column gas chromatography for the separation of isomeric aromatic compounds and insect sex pheromones. Liquid crystalline polymers possess long nematic ranges and a uniform coating was easily achieved in glass and fused silica capillaries, which could stand temperatures up to 250°C in GC and pressures of 200 MPa at 160°C in SFC. The columns provide excellent selectivity and resolution for fused ring aromatic compounds such as the isomers anthracene and phenanthrene or triphenylene and chrysene.     

The use of glass capillary columns for the analysis of polar natural products

Two published procedures for glass capillary column production are applied to produce capillaries for chromatography of polar natural compounds. Soda lime glass capillaries, after leaching with aqueous HCL, are either treated with colloidal silicic acid or with barium carbonate and coated with either Silar 7CP or SE 52. A test mixture as well as polar carbohydrate and peptide mixtures are chromatographed on the different columns and their chromatographic properties are evaluated. Combined capillary gas chromatography-electron impact and chemical ionization mass spectrometry are used for identification of the peptide sequence.     

Comparative Enantiomer-Resolving Ability of Coated and Covalently Immobilized Versions of Two Polysaccharide-Based Chiral Selectors in High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

The separation of enantiomers of over 175 randomly selected chiral acidic, basic, and neutral compounds was studied on 4 polysaccharide-based chiral columns made by coating or covalent attachment of cellulose 3,5-dichlorophenylcarbamate or amylose 3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate on the surface of silica. Triscarbamate derivatives of cellulose or amylose were used for the preparation of coated-type columns, while in the case of covalently immobilized chiral stationary phases, the respective polysaccharides were not completely carbamoylated but only close to triscarbamates. It was found that this minimal difference in the chemical composition of the polysaccharide derivatives resulted in significantly different enantiomer-resolving ability for certain groups of chiral compounds while only marginally different for other chiral analytes. This potential difference between coated- and covalently immobilized versions of the “same” chiral selector must be considered in method development with these columns, as well as in method transfer between them.     

Separation of acidic and basic compounds in capillary electrochromatography with polymethacrylate-based monolithic columns

Methacrylate-based monolithic columns with electroosmotic flow (EOF) or very weak EOF are prepared by in situ copolymerization in the presence of a porogen in fused-silica capillaries pretreated with a bifunctional reagent. Satisfactory separations of acidic and basic compounds on the column with EOF at either low or high pH are achieved, respectively. With sulfonic groups as dissociation functionalities, sufficient EOF mobility still remains as high as 1.74 x 10(-4) cm2 s(-1) V(-1) at low pH. Under this condition, seven acidic compounds are readily separated within 5.7 min. Moreover, at high pH, the peak shape of basic compounds is satisfactory without addition of any masking amines into running mobile phase since the secondary interaction between the basic compounds and the monolithic stationary phase are minimized at high pH. Reversed-phase mechanism for both acidic and basic compounds is observed under investigated separation conditions. In addition, possibilities of acidic and basic compound separations on a monolithic column with extremely low EOF are discussed.     

Mixed-mode reversed-phase and ion-exchange monolithic columns for micro-HPLC

This paper describes the fabrication of RP/ion-exchange mixed-mode monolithic materials for capillary LC. Following deactivation of the capillary surface with 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (gamma-MAPS), monoliths were formed by copolymerisation of pentaerythritol diacrylate monostearate (PEDAS), 2-sulphoethyl methacrylate (SEMA) with/without ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) within 100 microm id capillaries. In order to investigate the porous properties of the monoliths prepared in our laboratory, mercury intrusion porosimetry, SEM and micro-HPLC were used to measure the monolithic structures. The monolithic columns prepared without EDMA showed bad mechanical stability at high pressure, which is undesirable for micro-HPLC applications. However, it was observed that the small amount (5% w/w) of EDMA clearly improved the mechanical stability of the monoliths. In order to evaluate their application for micro-HPLC, a range of neutral, acidic and basic compounds was separated with these capillaries and satisfactory separations were obtained. In order to further investigate the separation mechanism of these monolithic columns, comparative studies were carried out on the poly(PEDAS-co-SEMA) monolithic column and two other monoliths, poly(PEDAS) and poly(PEDAS-co-2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl-trimethylammonium methylsulphate (METAM)). As expected, different selectivities were observed for the separation of basic compounds on all three monolithic columns using the same separation conditions. The mobile phase pH also showed clear influence on the retention time of basic compounds. This could be explained by ion-exchange interaction between positively charged analytes and the negatively charged sulphate group.     

Rough-surfaced molybdenum carbide nanobeads grown on graphene-coated carbon nanofibers membrane as free-standing hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalyst

A novel free-standing pie-like paper electrode composed of Mo₂C nanobeads on graphene-coated carbon nanofibers (G-CNF) membrane was rationally designed as advanced electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). A thin layer of graphene is coated on the surface of CNF membrane, forming a “crust” on fibrous web architecture. The unique design of the all-carbon membrane, which is a 3D interconnected conductive framework of nanofibers, reduces the resistance of electron and ion transport during the electrocatalyzing process. With G-CNF performing as support, well-shaped Mo₂C nanobeads were immobilized on the fibers through hydrothermal and calcination procedures, offering rich catalytic sites on the exposed rough surface. Owing to all these merits, the composite membrane of Mo₂C-G-CNF exhibits high HER catalytic activity with onset potential of 115 mV in acidic solution and 108 mV in basic solution. Furthermore, the good durability in both acidic and basic environment guarantees its practical application as free-standing electrode material.     

Capillary electrochromatography with bare silicas of different pore sizes as stationary phases

Bare silica can be used with reversed phase eluents for the chromatographic separation of basic analytes. It provides high surface charge density within a certain pH range, thus generating a high electroosmotic flow (EOF) when applied in electrochromatography. The influence of pore size on EOF velocity and mass transport is demonstrated. High EOF and fast mass transfer were encountered with 100 nm and 200 nm material and related to a pore perfusion mechanism. On a silica with 200 nm average pore size at pH 7, an EOF velocity of 2 mm/s was obtained at 600 V/cm. Silicas with pore diameters between 6 nm and 200 nm, corresponding to surface areas between 500 m/g and 10 m/g (data calculated from inverse size exclusion chromatography experiments), were used for CEC and HPLC separation of strongly basic solutes. On separation of tricyclic antidepressants by CEC, “normal” and “abnormal” efficiencies were achieved and were found to vary with the charge density within the separation column.     

Retention behavior of basic compounds on alkylphosphonate-modified magnesia-zirconia composite stationary phase in RPHPLC

Summary The chromatographic properties of an alkylphosphonate-modified magnesia-zirconia composite stationary phase have been investigated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with basic compounds as probes. The influence of organic modifier composition and mobile phase pH was studied. The new stationary phase, similar to a silica-based reversed-phase stationary phase, has hydrophobic properties, but greater pH stability. Use of the phase results in more symmetric peaks for basic compounds. A possible mechanism of retention of basic solutes on the new stationary phase is discussed. The chromatographic behavior of the basic solutes depends mainly on hydrophobic interactions between the solutes and the hydrophobic moiety of the stationary phase. Br?nsted acidic and basic sites on the surface of the new stationary phase play an important role in the retention of ionized solutes by ion-exchange interaction. Promising separations of some basic compounds have been achieved by use of methanolic TRIS buffer, pH 10.0, as the mobile phase.     

The solvent dimethyl sulfoxide

The dipolar aprotic solvent dimethyl sulfoxide is liquid over a wide range of temperatures, is a strong electron donor, and has a high polarity. It is therefore an excellent and selective solvent for many organic and even polymeric compounds, and can enter into H-bonding and dipole-dipole association. The structure of dimethyl sulfoxide, with a “hard” oxygen atom and a “soft” sulfur atom, leads to good solvation of cations and poor solvation of anions. Mixtures of alkoxides with dimethyl sulfoxide are therefore among the most strongly basic systems in organic chemistry, and are excellently suited for the deprotonation of weakly acidic OH, NH, and CH bonds, for eliminations, and for the initiation of polymerizations.     

Termination of Surface Radicals and Kinetic Analysis of Surface‐Initiated RAFT Polymerization on Flat Surfaces

si‐RAFT polymerization is widely used for surface modification. However, how the surface radicals terminate requires further elucidation. A kinetic model is developed for si‐RAFT via the R group approach. The model describes the molecular weight of grafted polymers as well as polymer layer thickness and various chain concentrations. It is shown that surface/surface radical termination plays an important role. The termination is facilitated by the migration of surface radicals through “hopping” and “rolling” mechanisms. “Hopping” occurs through activation/deactivation cycles between surface and solution chains, dependent on the RAFT concentration in solution. “Rolling” occurs through transfers between surface/surface chains, dependent on the grafting density at surface.

     

Surface modification of H-ferrierite by reaction with triethoxysilane

The interaction of triethoxysilane (TES) with H-ferrierite (H-FER) and its effects on acidity have been investigated by infrared spectroscopy. TES adsorbs only on the external surface of H-FER and allows the almost complete disappearance of the external silanol groups. New SiH groups are formed which appear to be inactive in acid-base interactions. The adsorption of propionitrile, which diffuses into the zeolitic channels, provides evidence for the lack of substantial perturbation of the strongly acidic internal bridging OH groups. On the contrary, the adsorption of the hindered basic probe molecule o-toluonitrile, which cannot penetrate the FER channels, shows that not only terminal silanols but also Al3+ Lewis acid sites present on the external surface of H-FER almost totally disappear after TES treatment. Treatment with TES seems to allow virtually the total deactivation of the H-FER external surface.