Ion chromatographic separation of alkylsulphonic acids with conductivity detection

Summary An ion chromatographic (IC) method has been developed for the separation of alkylsulphonic acid. Two different stationary phases, silica-based and polymer-based ion-exchange resins, were studied using pure ion exchange and/or hydrophobic interaction mechanisms. Correlations between analyte hydrophobicity and eluent polarity were made in order to investigate the possibility of changing the dominant separation mechanism by varying the eluent composition. The alkyl chain lengths of the sulphonic acids analysed ranged from C₁ to C₉. Detection limits in the submicromolar range were obtained by suppressed conductivity detection.