LC Separation of Co-Existing Cetylpyridinium Chloride, Tetradecyltrimethylammonium Bromide and Dodecyltrimethylammonium Bromide on Silica TLC Plates with Aqueous-Organic Eluents

Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) of three cationic surfactants was performed on silica TLC plates with various solvent systems. The mutual separation of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) and dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) was achieved on silica TLC plates with ethanol: 1% aqueous ammonium chloride (4:6, v/v) as an eluent. Effects of cations and anions in the mobile phase on mobility and separation of CPC, TTAB and DTAB were examined. The interference due to the presence of metal cations as impurities on the resolution in the mixture of CPC, TTAB and DTAB was also examined. The limits of detection of CPC, TTAB and DTAB estimated were 0.015, 0.031 and 0.062 μg zone⁻¹, respectively. The developed method was utilized to identify these surfactants in different spiked water samples after their preliminary separation.