Preparation and Characterization of Sol-Gel SE-30-Coated Silica Stationary Phase for Capillary Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A sol-gel chemistry-based polymer coating approach was developed for the preparation of a novel polysiloxane-coated silica stationary phase for capillary liquid chromatography. SE-30, a commercial polysiloxane stationary phase used in gas chromatography, was incorporated into the properly designed sol solution. Then the sol-gel mixture was introduced into a silica gel-packed capillary column by pressure. A thin film of sol-gel SE-30-coating is chemically bonded to the surface of silica gel particles by hydrolytic polycondensation under mild conditions without any free radical cross-linking procedures, therefore the sol-gel approach offers a simple and effective pathway to create a hybrid polymer-coated silica stationary phase. Various factors affecting column making were optimized and discussed in this report. The resulting stationary phase showed good permeability, mechanical robustness, high durability to alkaline mobile phase and satisfactory chromatographic performance in separations of polar and non-polar aromatic compounds. Linear solvation energy relationships (LSERs) studies indicate that the stationary phase has a reversed-phased character with SE-30 providing chromatographic functionality. The solute size and the solute hydrogen bond ability are major factors that principally govern the retention of test solutes.