Graphene oxide coated capillary for chiral separation by CE

This article describes a new application of graphene oxide (GO) in CE based on the coating of fused silica capillary for chiral separation. The coated capillary was characterized by SEM, energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and Raman spectra. The results indicated that the capillary was coated with GO. Chiral separations were carried out in the GO‐coated capillary for the ephedrine–pseudoephedrine (E‐PE) isomers and β‐methylphenethylamine (β‐Me‐PEA) isomers at the optimal buffer conditions without any chiral selector by CE. The precision and reproducibility of GO‐coated capillary were investigated, and the RSDs of migration time (n = 6) for the E‐PE isomers were 1.35–1.41%, and 0.97–3.50% for β‐Me‐PEA isomers, respectively. The LOD for E‐PE isomers and β‐Me‐PEA isomers was 3 μM and 18 μM, respectively.     

Capillary column coated with graphene oxide as stationary phase for gas chromatography

The graphene oxide (GO) is carbon based material that has high surface area, high adsorption ability, and is stable at high temperature. In this work, the GO phase was prepared and used for gas chromatographic separation. GO nanosheets were covalently bonded onto the inner surface of fused silica capillary column using 3-aminopropyldiethoxymethyl silane as cross-linking agent. The prepared GO nanosheets were characterized with TEM and the GO coating was characterized with SEM. As a high performance stationary phase, GO provides not only a high surface area to increase the phase ratio but also rich functional groups for the formation of hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonding, and π–π electrostatic stacking interactions with volatile aromatic or unsaturated organic compounds. Thus, mixtures of a wide range of organic compounds including alcohols and aromatic compounds were well separated and an efficiency of 1990 theoretical plates per meter for anisole was obtained on GO coated 1.0 m × 200 μm i.d. fused silica capillary column. The experimental results demonstrate that GO coated capillary columns are promising for gas chromatographic separation.     

Preparation and characterization of a polystyrene/bovine serum albumin nanoparticle‐coated capillary for chiral separation using open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography

Polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles coated by BSA, hereafter denoted as PS/BSA, were prepared and chemically immobilized for the first time onto a capillary inner wall for open‐tubular CEC (OTCEC). EOF and scanning electron micrography were used to characterize the prepared nanoparticle‐coated capillaries. To investigate the performance of the prepared columns in OTCEC, chiral separation of d ,l ‐tryptophan (dl ‐Trp) was performed in monolayer BSA‐modified capillary and PS/BSA nanoparticle‐coated columns. The results indicated that the nanoparticle‐modified column afforded a higher resolution compared with the monolayer type. Rapid enantioseparation of dl ‐Trp (within 3 min) was achieved with the PS/BSA‐immobilized column using an electroosmotic pump‐assisted CEC. Enantiomer separations of other compounds like dl ‐tyrosine and warfarin were also achieved with the column. Besides, run‐to‐run and column‐to‐column repeatabilities of the PS/BSA‐coated column in the chiral separation were systematically introduced.     

Simultaneous determination of atropine,scopolamine, and anisodamine in Flos daturae by capillary electrophoresis using a capillary coated by graphene oxide

A novel CE method was developed for the separation and determination of three main tropane alkaloids in Flos daturae with a capillary coated by graphene oxide (GO). The GO‐coated capillary was characterized by SEM, energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy, and the results indicated that the inner surface of the capillary was partially coated by GO. A phosphate solution (40 mM, pH7.0) containing 20% v/v methanol and 30% v/v acetonitrile was used as the running buffer for the analysis of the atropine, scopolamine, and anisodamine. The linear ranges of atropine, scopolamine, and anisodamine was 0.5–200 μg/mL with satisfactory correlation coefficients (R²) > 0.9987, and this novel method provided an efficient separation for three tropane alkaloids as well as a good reproducibility and stability. Finally, the method was successfully applied for the determination of these three tropane alkaloids in plant extracts.     

Graphene oxide coated capillary for the analysis of endocrine‐disrupting chemicals by open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography with amperometric detection

A graphene oxide‐coated capillary was fabricated by using 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane as the cross‐linking agent. It was used for the separation and detection of three endocrine‐disrupting chemicals, including bisphenol A, 4‐nonylphenol, and 4‐octylphenol by capillary electrochromatography. Due to the hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonding, and π–π interaction between graphene oxide and the analytes, the three analytes could be well separated in pH = 11.0, 20 mmol/L Na₂B₄O₇‐NaOH/methanol mobile phase (50:50, v/v) within 950 s. After preconcentration, the detection limits were 6.7 × 10^?10, 3.3 × 10^?9, and 6.7 × 10^?10 mol/L (S/N = 3) for bisphenol A, nonylphenol, and octylphenol, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of the above analytes in water samples. The satisfactory result demonstrated that the graphene oxide coated capillary used in capillary electrochromatography with amperometric detection was convenient to prepare, highly stable, and had good reproducibility.     

Separation performance of graphene oxide as stationary phase for capillary gas chromatography

Graphene oxide(GO) has attracted extensive attention due to its unique properties and potential applications.Here,we report the investigation of GO nanosheets as a stationary phase for capillary gas chromatographic(GC) separations.The GO column,fabricated by a new one-step coating approach,showed average McReynolds constants of 308,suggesting the medium polar nature of the GC stationary phase.The GO stationary phase achieves good separation for analytes of different types with good peak shapes,especially for H-bonding analytes,such as alcohols and amines.The different retention behaviors of GO stationary phase from the conventional stationary phase may originate from its multiple interactions with analytes,involving H-bonding,dipole-dipole,π-π stacking and dispersive interactions.Moreover,GO column showed good separation reproducibility with relative standard deviation(RSD%) less than 0.24%(n = 5) on retention times of analytes.     

A homochiral porous organic cage with large cavity and pore windows for the efficient gas chromatography separation of enantiomers and positional isomers

Porous organic cages composed of discrete cage molecules have attracted considerable recent attention as gas adsorption materials and separation media. In this study, we report a homochiral porous organic cage CC5 with a large cavity and pore windows as a novel stationary phase for high‐resolution gas chromatographic separations. The capillary column was prepared by a static coating method. A large number of racemic compounds have been resolved on the coated capillary column, including derivatized amino acids, alcohols, alcohol amines, esters, ethers, ketones, and epoxides. It is interesting that the CC5‐coated capillary column exhibits significant chiral recognition complementarity to a commercial β‐DEX 120 column and a previously reported homochiral porous organic cage CC3‐R‐coated column, which could expand the range of the analytes amenable to separation on porous organic cage‐based capillary columns. Moreover, the fabricated column also shows excellent selectivity for the separation of positional isomers, including the challenging ethylbenzene and xylene isomers. Experimental results demonstrate an excellent separation performance and stability of the CC5‐coated column, making it promising for gas chromatography applications.     

Determination of dopamine,epinephrine, and norepinephrine by open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography using graphene oxide molecularly imprinted polymers as the stationary phase

A novel capillary electrochromatography method was developed for the determination of dopamine (DA), epinephrine (EP), and norepinephrine (NE) by using a graphene oxide (GO) molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) coated capillary. In this article, GO was introduced as supporting matrix to synthesize MIPs in the presence of DA as template molecule. Then GO MIPs were used as the stationary phase in electrochromatography for the determination of DA, EP, and NE. The separation of these three analytes was achieved under the optimal conditions with a satisfactory correlation coefficients (R²) > 0.9957 in the range of 5.0–200.0 μg/mL for EP and NE, and 20.0–200.0 μg/mL for DA, respectively. The RSDs for the determination of three analytes were <6.19%, and the detection limits were 1.25 μg/mL for EP and NE, and 10.0 μg/mL for DA, respectively. Finally, this method was used for the determination of DA, EP, and NE in human serum and DA hydrochloride injection.     

In situ fabrication of microporous organic network coated capillary column for high resolution gas chromatographic separation of hydrocarbons

Microporous organic networks (MONs) are a new class of porous materials synthesized via Sonogashira coupling reactions between organic building blocks. Here we report an in situ synthesis approach to fabricate MONs coated capillary column for high resolution GC separation of hydrocarbons. The McReynolds constant evaluation reveals the MONs coated capillary is a non‐polar column. The MONs coated capillary column shows good resolution for GC separation of diverse important industrial hydrocarbons such as linear and branched alkanes, alkylbenzenes, pinene isomers, ethylbenzene and styrene, cyclohexane and benzene. The MONs coated capillary column gave a high column efficiency of 1542 plates per meter for hexane and good precision for replicate separations of the selected hydrocarbons with the RSDs of 0.2–0.3, 1.5–3.1, and 1.9–3.3% for retention time, peak height and peak area, respectively. The MONs coated capillary also offered better resolution than commercial Inert Cap‐1 and Inert Cap‐5 capillary columns for hexane and heptane isomers. These results reveal the potential of MONs as novel stationary phases in GC.     

Graphene oxide‐SiO2 hybrid nanostructure as coating material for capillary electrochromatography

Graphene oxide (GO) has been considered as a promising stationary phase for chromatographic separation. However, the very strong adsorption of the analytes on the GO surface lead to the severe peak tailing, which in turn resulting in decreased separation performance. In this work, GO and silica nanoparticles hybrid nanostructures (GO/SiO₂ NPs@column) were coated onto the capillary inner wall by passing the mixture of GO and silica sol through the capillary column. The successful of coating of GO/SiO₂ NPs onto the capillary wall was confirmed by SEM and electroosmotic flow mobilities test. By partially covering the GO surface with silica nanoparticles, the peak tailing was decreased greatly while the unique high shape selectivity arises from the surface of remained GO was kept. Consequently, compared with the column modified with GO (GO@column), the column modified with GO and silica nanoparticles through layer‐by‐layer method (GO‐SiO₂ NPs@column), or the column modified with silica nanoparticles (SiO₂ NPs@column), GO/SiO₂ NPs@column possessed highest resolutions. The GO/SiO₂ NPs@column was applied to separate egg white and both acidic and basic proteins as well as three glycoisoforms of ovalbumin were separated in a single run within 36 min. The intra‐day, inter‐day, and column‐to‐column reproducibilities were evaluated by calculating the RSDs of the retention of naphthalene and biphenyl in open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography. The RSD values were found to be less than 7.1%.     

Alkylthiol gold nanoparticles in sol-gel-based open tubular capillary electrochromatography

A novel open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OTCEC) column was prepared by immobilizing dodecanethiol gold nanoparticles on prederivatised fused-silica capillary columns with sol-gel technology. 3-Mercaptopropyl-trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) was selected as sol-gel precursor to develop a sol-gel layer on the inner wall of the capillary, prior to assembly of dodecanethiol gold nanoparticles onto the generated sol-gel layer through specific interaction between the gold nanoparticles and surface terminating thiol groups. The electrochromatographic behaviour of the sol-gel gold nanoparticle capillary was compared with a gold nanoparticle capillary prepared via MPTMS surface functionalisation, through variation of the percentage of the organic modifier, pH, and separation voltage. Efficient separation for a "reversed-phase" test mixture of thiourea, naphthalene, and biphenyl and for selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was obtained on the sol-gel based gold nanoparticle capillaries. OTCEC separations of three selected drug substances (propiophenone, benzoin, and warfarin) were also demonstrated. Scanning electron microscopy was used for the characterization of the sol-gel gold nanoparticle capillary surface. The results confirm that dodecanethiol gold nanoparticles, bound on the sol-gel-based inner layer of fused-silica capillary, can provide sufficient solute-bonded phase interactions for OTCEC with reproducible retention as well as characteristic reversed-phase behaviour.     

Evaluation of graphitized glass capillary columns

The performance of graphitized glass capillary columns obtained by precoating the inner glass walls with graphitized carbon black has been evaluated. It has been shown that according to the amount of stationary phase coated such columns can operate in gas–liquid-solid chromatography and in gas–liquid chromatography so that tailor-made columns for specific separations can be prepared. The versatility of these columns is shown in the separation of various mixtures (terpenes, pesticides, isomeric species and others) of analytical importance.     

Gold nanoparticle decorated graphene oxide/silica composite stationary phase for high‐performance liquid chromatography

In the initial phase of this study, graphene oxide (GO)/silica was fabricated by assembling GO onto the silica particles, and then gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were used to modify the GO/silica to prepare a novel stationary phase for high‐performance liquid chromatography. The new stationary phase could be used in both reversed‐phase chromatography and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography modes. Good separations of alkylbenzenes, isomerides, amino acids, nucleosides, and nucleobases were achieved in both modes. Compared with the GO/silica phase and GNPs/silica phase, it is found that except for hydrophilicity, large π‐electron systems, hydrophobicity, and coordination functions, this new stationary phase also exhibited special separation performance due to the combination of 2D GO with zero‐dimensional GNPs.     

A novel in situ strategy for the preparation of a β‐cyclodextrin/polydopamine‐coated capillary column for capillary electrochromatography enantioseparations

Inspired by the chiral recognition ability of β‐cyclodextrin and the natural adhesive properties of polydopamine under alkaline conditions, in this study, a rapid and in situ modification strategy was developed to fabricate β‐cyclodextrin/polydopamine composite material coated‐capillary columns for open tubular capillary electrochromatography. The results of scanning electron microscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, streaming potential, and electro‐osmotic flow studies indicated that β‐cyclodextrin/polydopamine was successfully fixed on the inner wall of the capillary column. This coating can be achieved within 1 h affording a greatly reduced capillary preparation time. The performance of the β‐cyclodextrin/polydopamine‐coated capillary was validated by the analysis of seven pairs of chiral analytes, namely epinephrine, norepinephrine, isoprenaline, terbutaline, verapamil, tryptophane, carvedilol. Good enantioseparation efficiencies were achieved for all. For three consecutive runs, the relative standard deviations for the migration times of the analytes for intraday, interday, and column‐to‐column repeatability were in the range of 0.41–1.74, 1.03–4.18, and 1.66–8.24%, respectively. Moreover, the separation efficiency of the β‐cyclodextrin/polydopamine‐coated capillary column did not decrease obviously over 90 runs. The strategy should also be feasible to introduce and immobilize other chiral selectors on the inner walls surface of capillary columns.     

C18 functionalized graphene oxide as a novel coating for solid-phase microextraction

A novel C18 functionalized graphene oxide (GO) coated solid-phase microextraction fiber was prepared by a novel protocol. Based on the strong van der Waals interaction present in GO and abundant oxygenous groups in GO sheets, a simple layer-by-layer self-assembly method was used in the preparation process and then C18 was successfully self-assembled on GO via C-O-Si bonding. Coupled with gas chromatography, extraction performance of the fiber was tested with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as model analytes. The fiber not only exhibited excellent extraction efficiency and selectivity, but also showed many advantages including high rigidity, long service life and well stability toward organic solvent, acidic and alkali solutions, and high temperature. The relative standard deviations for single-fiber repeatability and fiber-to-fiber reproducibility were less than 7.26 and 17.25%, respectively. The detection limits to the PAHs were less than 0.08 μg L(-1) and the calibration curves were linear in a wide range for all analytes. The as-established Solid-phase microextraction GC method was also successfully used for determination of PAHs in two real water samples.     

Preparation of graphene oxide modified glass fibers and their application in flame retardant polyamide 6

In order to improve the flame retardancy of glass fibers (GFs) reinforced polyamide 6 (PA6) composites and eliminate the “wicking effect,” the preparation and application of graphene oxide (GO) modified GFs were investigated in this work. Flame retardant PA6 was prepared by blending graphene oxide modified GFs reinforced PA6 and aluminum diethyl phosphonate. For the GFs reinforced PA6, the limiting oxygen index of the composite increased from 20.6% to 22.3%, and peak heat release rate decreased by 37.2% in cone calorimeter test via introducing graphene oxide onto the surface of GFs. Comparing PA6/GF30/ADP15 and PA6/GF‐GO30/ADP15, LOI of the later increased to 31.2%, the vertical burning test (UL‐94) reached V‐0, and the peak heat release rate decreased by 18.0%. The interface compatibility was greatly improved after the introduction of GO. The sheet structure of the GO on the GFs surface could block the combustible gas spillage and the flow of melt along the GFs, thus significantly attenuating the “wicking effect” and improving the flame retardancy of composites.     

Anchoring calcium carbonate on graphene oxide reinforced with anticorrosive properties of composite epoxy coatings

Calcium carbonate nanoparticles (nano‐CaCO₃) anchored graphene oxide (GO) sheet nanohybrids (GO‐CaCO₃) are fabricated, and their structure can be measured by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. Afterwards, composite epoxy coatings, filled with GO and GO‐CaCO₃ nanohybrids, are prepared via a curing process. The dispersion and anticorrosive properties of composite epoxy coatings are investigated. The results reveal that GO‐CaCO₃ nanohybrids achieve a homogeneous dispersion as well as reinforce corrosion resistance of epoxy coatings. Furthermore, the anticorrosive mechanisms are tentatively proposed for the GO‐CaCO₃/epoxy coatings. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Low‐Temperature Solid‐State Microwave Reduction of Graphene Oxide for Transparent Electrically Conductive Coatings on Flexible Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)

Microwaves (MWs) are applied to initialize deoxygenation of graphene oxide (GO) in the solid state and at low temperatures (～165 °C). The Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of MW‐reduced graphene oxide (rGO) show a significantly reduced concentration of oxygen‐containing functional groups, such as carboxyl, hydroxyl and carbonyl. X‐ray photoelectron spectra confirm that microwaves can promote deoxygenation of GO at relatively low temperatures. Raman spectra and TGA measurements indicate that the defect level of GO significantly decreases during the isothermal solid‐state MW‐reduction process at low temperatures, corresponding to an efficient recovery of the fine graphene lattice structure. Based on both deoxygenation and defect‐level reduction, the resurgence of interconnected graphene‐like domains contributes to a low sheet resistance (～7.9×10⁴ Ω per square) of the MW‐reduced GO on SiO₂‐coated Si substrates with an optical transparency of 92.7 % at ～547 nm after MW reduction, indicating the ultrahigh efficiency of MW in GO reduction. Moreover, the low‐temperature solid‐state MW reduction is also applied in preparing flexible transparent conductive coatings on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates. UV/Vis measurements indicate that the transparency of the thus‐prepared MW‐reduced GO coatings on PDMS substrates ranges from 34 to 96 %. Correspondingly, the sheet resistance of the coating ranges from 10⁵ to 10⁹ Ω per square, indicating that MW reduction of GO is promising for the convenient low‐temperature preparation of transparent conductors on flexible polymeric substrates.     

Repartition effect of aromatic polyaniline coatings on the separation of bioactive peptides in capillary electrophoresis

The capillary walls of fused-silica capillary electrophoresis (CE) columns were modified with a thin film of polyaniline (PANI), providing open-tubular columns with a stable coating containing aromatic groups and amine functionalities. Fast and efficient separations were observed for small bioactive peptides under acidic conditions on PANI-coated columns. The mechanism of separation is based on hydrophobic interactions between the analytes and the polymeric matrix. Good reproducibility was observed from run-to-run. Due to the simple derivatization procedure, method flexibility, the uniformity of the coating and its stability, conjugated polymers could find practical application in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) separations.