Investigation and characterization of deep eutectic solvent (DES) based stationary phase in gas chromatography

Abstract

In this study, the preparation of the stationary phase based on the deep eutectic solvent (DES) was investigated along with the measurement of thermodynamic parameters. The physical characterization of the synthesized sample was investigated by Thermogravimetric (TGA), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) analyses. Thermodynamic parameters measured to express the potential ability of the constructed stationary phase were McReynolds constants, partition coefficient, Abraham system constants, ∆, activity coefficient at infinite dilution (${\gamma }_i^{\infty }$), and selectivity ($S_{\text{ij}}^{\infty }$). For this purpose, the parameters were investigated in different amounts of stationary phase (SP) loading including 5, 10, 15 and 18 %w/w and also at three temperatures of 40, 70 and 100 °C. The prepared stationary phase with moderate polarity had the potential to separate BTEXs, aromatic compounds and alcohols due to strong interactions caused by hydrogen bonds. It was investigated the improved performance of the stationary phase prepared with carbowax. Finally, the performance of SP-DES stationary phase separation was investigated for different analytes including alkanes, alcohols and aromatic compounds.