Investigation of the effects of solvent-mismatch and immiscibility in normal-phase × aqueous reversed-phase liquid chromatography.

Comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC × LC) is an attractive separation technique that allows achieving high peak capacities and information on chemical correlations. Unfortunately, its application in industrial practice is still not widespread due to limiting factors such as complex method development, tedious method optimization and solvent-incompatibility (such as solvent-strength mismatch or immiscibility experienced during fraction transfer). A severe case of solvent-incompatibility is encountered in the comprehensive coupling of normal-phase LC and reversed-phase LC (NPLC × RPLC).

Fast determination of functionality-type × molecular-weight distribution of propoxylates with varying numbers of hydroxyl end-groups using gradient-normal-phase liquid chromatography × ultra-high pressure size-exclusion chromatography.

Understanding the relation between chemical characteristics and properties of synthetic polymers is one of the challenges faced by analytical chemists in industry. This is a complex task, as polymers are not synthesized as single molecule, but are populations of chemically similar compounds with distributions over several properties. The latter include, for example, molecular weight, nature of end-groups (functionality), and chemical composition.

Characterization of complex polyether polyols using comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography hyphenated to high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Polyether polyols are often used in formulated systems, but their complete characterization is challenging, because of simultaneous heterogeneities in chemical composition, molecular weight and functionality. One-dimensional liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry is commonly used to characterize polyether polyols. However, the separation power of this technique is not sufficient to resolve the complexity of such samples entirely.

Branched polymers characterized by comprehensive two-dimensional separations with fully orthogonal mechanisms: molecular-topology fractionation×size-exclusion chromatography.

Polymer separations under non-conventional conditions have been explored to obtain a separation of long-chain branched polymers from linear polymers with identical hydrodynamic size. In separation media with flow-through channels of the same order as the size of the analyte molecules in solution, the separation and the elution order of polymers are strongly affected by the flow rate. At low flow rates, the largest polymers are eluted last.

Characterization of glycerin-based polyols by capillary electrophoresis.

Methods based on capillary electrophoresis (CE) have been developed to obtain the molar mass distribution (MMD) of glycerin-based polyols and details on the presence of mono- and difunctional byproducts in technical samples. Prior to the analyses the hydroxy end-groups of the trifunctional polyols were converted to chargeable and UV-active moieties with phthalic anhydride (PhAH) as the derivatization reagent. With a method of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) samples of glycerin-based polyols with average molar masses up to 6000 were separated according to their charge-to-size ratio.