Analysis of ion-association equilibrium of precipitable dipicrylaminate ion in aqueous solution by capillary zone electrophoresis.

The ion-association equilibrium of the dipicrylaminate ion (DPA(-)) was investigated in an aqueous solution with alkali metal ions and with its 18-crown-6 ether complexes as pairing cations by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Although DPA(-) is precipitable with the pairing cations of K(+) and Cs(+) in a homogenous aqueous solution, a low concentration of DPA(-) below its solubility suppressed the formation of the precipitates, and DPA(-) was detected as a usual CZE signal. Changes in the electrophoretic mobility of DPA(-) was analyzed for its ion-association equilibrium.