Preparation of a polyglycol-C8 bonded phase and its characteristics

Summary A new bonded phase containing both non-polar C₈ and polar polyglycol chains was synthesized in two steps. Silica was first silanized with octyltrimethoxysilane and then the intermediate product was reacted with tetraethylene glycol to introduce the polar group. The bonded phase exhibits a selectivity different from that of C₈ or C₁₈ reversed phases with a mixed-mode retention mechanism. The silanol effect on the polyglycol-C₈ bonded phase was examined with the test mixture proposed by Engelhardt and co-workers. The experimental results indicate that the new bonded phase displays less silanol effect. The observed tailing of some ionizable species resulted mainly from their partial dissociation at the pH values of eluents close to thepK _a values of the solutes. Some potential applications of the bonded phase are also given.