Investigation of factors influencing the performance open-tubular stationary phases in capillary electrochromatography

Silica-based, open-tubular capillary columns bearing C8-moieties were produced by the sol gel approach. The influence of experimental conditions adjusted during the preparation of the stationary phase on the performance of the resulting capillary column were investigated in terms of the plate height, the resolution, and the capacity factors, taking the separation of three non-charged polyaromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene, phenanthrene, pyrene) as example. Acetone served as EOF marker. The optimal synthesis protocol was then used to prepare columns for an analogous investigation of the chromatographic parameters, namely the mobile phase composition, the applied voltage and temperature, as well as the column length, thickness, and inner diameter on the performance of the capillary columns.