We have recently demonstrated the separation of neutral and water-insoluble linear synthetic polymers in nonaqueous capillary zone electrophoresis (NACZE) using a cationic surfactant of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC). In this study, eight ionic surfactants were investigated for the separation of four synthetic polymers (polystyrene, polymethylmethacrylates, polybutadiene, and polycarbonate); only three surfactants (CTAC, dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide, and sodium dodecylsulfate) caused their separation. The order of the interaction between the polymers and the surfactants depended on both the surfactant species and the composition of the electrophoretic medium. Their investigation revealed that the separation is majorly affected by the hydrophobic interactions between the polymers and the ionic surfactants. In addition, the electrophoretic behavior of polycarbonate suggested that electrostatic interaction also affects the selectivity of the polymers.
The separation of neutral and water-insoluble linear synthetic polymers in non-aqueous capillary zone electrophoresis using the hydrophobic phosphonium-based ionic liquid trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium chloride (P 66614 Cl) were investigated using polystyrene, polymethylmethacrylates, polybutadiene, and polycarbonate as test analytes. The solubility of P 66614 Cl in tetrahydrofuran was above 500 mM, which was significantly higher than that of the general ionic surfactants used in our previous studies. The separation of the four polymers was achieved using a binary mixture of tetrahydrofuran/methanol or tetrahydrofuran/acetonitrile containing P 66614 Cl as the electrophoretic medium. It was confirmed that an increase in hydrophobicity or bulkiness of the cationic reagent improved the polymer separation. The interaction between polycarbonate with P 66614 Cl was reduced by the addition of acetonitrile, and enhanced by the methanol addition.
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