Dynamic leaching of sodium-glass capillary columns

It is well known that removal of metal ions from the glass surface greatly improves both the thermal stability and the adsorption characteristics of glass capillary columns. Usually metal ions are removed from a glass surface by acid leaching; in particular, the static leaching procedure with hydrochloric acid is used very often for the preparation of glass capillary columns. This paper discusses the results of an investigation into dynamic leaching. Special attention is paid to those factors which affect the adsorption properties of the leached surface. The importance of the non-specific adsorptivity of the capillary surface due to changes of surface properties induced by the leaching process is pointed out.