Chromatography Forum

Hi,
I need to analyze mixtures of glycol ethers. I want to make it with HPLC for the mixtures may contain surfactants which are hard to detect with GC. Do you think C-18 is the right column?

Personally, I think capillary GC is the way to go for glycol ethers in surfactants, either GC or GCMS. I've been doing these by GC for decades.

Note that some glycol ether type materials can contain several isomers, like dipropylene glycol.

What is the nature of your surfactants? Are they ionic or neutral? What detection technique you intend to use?

I have tried GC-MS in aceton. Silica column, not capillary. Glycols could be detected but MS fit vas not very satisfactory, so some of the peaks remained unknown. I think the column was more appropriate for VOC since no surfactant was detected which made me suspicious about the accuracy of the analysis. That's why I want to try my chance with HPLC. I am not sure I can find a capillary GC around, I'll check.

And thanks for the reply.

Personally, I think capillary GC is the way to go for glycol ethers in surfactants, either GC or GCMS. I've been doing these by GC for decades.

Note that some glycol ether type materials can contain several isomers, like dipropylene glycol.

[/color]

Anionic. Alkyl ammonium salts I think.

What is the nature of your surfactants? Are they ionic or neutral? What detection technique you intend to use?

Make trimethylsilyl derivatives. Capillary GC is not exactly "new", I've been using fused silica capillary columns for over 3 decades.

I have tried GC-MS in aceton. Silica column, not capillary. Glycols could be detected but MS fit vas not very satisfactory, so some of the peaks remained unknown. I think the column was more appropriate for VOC since no surfactant was detected which made me suspicious about the accuracy of the analysis. That's why I want to try my chance with HPLC. I am not sure I can find a capillary GC around, I'll check.

And thanks for the reply.

Personally, I think capillary GC is the way to go for glycol ethers in surfactants, either GC or GCMS. I've been doing these by GC for decades.

Note that some glycol ether type materials can contain several isomers, like dipropylene glycol.

[/color]

Sorry for the pity, (when they say fumed silica column, I thought of a packed column other than capillary columns...) Thanks indeed.

Make trimethylsilyl derivatives. Capillary GC is not exactly "new", I've been using fused silica capillary columns for over 3 decades.