Principal component analysis of polymer-solvent and filler-solvent interactions by inverse gas chromatography

Polymers (polyethylene, polyurethane), silica and modified silicas (modified with: N-2-aminoethyl-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, 3-merkaptopropyltrimethoxysilane, triethoxyoctylsilane) were examined by inverse gas chromatography at four different temperatures: 363, 383, 393 and 403 K. The modifiers of silica were applied at five different concentrations. Small amounts of the following test solutes were injected to achieve the infinite dilution conditions: pentane, hexane, heptane, octane, nonane, dichloromethane, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, and 1,2-dichloroethane. The retention times for these test solutes were determined and Flory-Huggins parameters were calculated. Values of these physico-chemical parameters characterizing the examined materials were arranged in a matrix form: in the rows the supports and modifiers were enumerated at different temperatures whereas the columns contained the test solutes. The input matrix was subject to principal component analysis after standardization. Three principal components explain more than 93% of the total variance in the data. Four test solutes (hexane, heptane, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride) carry very similar information. Therefore, it is justified to eliminate any three of them from the series of test solutes. Modifiers, supports and various temperatures were classified and different groups were observed according to the dominant interactions. Type of modifier, its content, and temperature can change and shift the properties from the dominant clusters to the neighboring clusters. Unambiguous separation was observed in cases of silica modified with 5 and 10 parts of triethoxyoctylsilane at all examined temperatures. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.