The reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization technique has been employed to synthesize linear ␣, -telechelic polymers with either hydroxyl or carboxyl end groups. Methyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, and butyl acrylate were polymerized with RAFT polymerization. The polymerizations exhibited the usual characteristics of living processes. Telechelic polymethacrylates were obtained from a hydroxyl monofunctional RAFT polymer with a two-step chain-end modification procedure of the dithioester end group. The procedure consisted of an aminolysis followed by a Michael addition on the resulting thiol. The different steps of the procedure were followed by detailed analysis. It was found that this route was always accompanied by side reactions, resulting in disulfides and hydrogen-terminated polymer chains as side products next to the hydroxyl-terminated telechelic polymers. Telechelic poly(butyl acrylates) with carboxyl end groups were produced in a single step procedure with difunctional trithiocarbonates as RAFT agents. The high yield in terms of end group functionality was confirmed by a new critical-liquid-chromatography method, in which the polymers were separated based on acid-functionality and by mass spectrometry analysis. Scheme 1. Synthesis of hydroxyl-telechelic polymethacrylates.

Methacrylate ester-based monolithic stationary phases were prepared in situ in fused-silica capillaries and simultaneously in vials. The influence of the composition of the polymerization mixture on the morphology was studied with mercury intrusion porosimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and nitrogen adsorption measurements. A high-density porous polymeric material with a unimodal pore-size distribution was prepared with 40 wt % monomers and 60 wt % solvent in the mixture. A low-density material, prepared with a 20:80 ratio of monomers versus pore-forming solvent, showed a bimodal pore-size distribution and a much finer structure than the high-density monolith. The characteristic pore size could be controlled by changing the ratio of pore-forming solvents. With increasing solvent polarity, both the pore size and the dimension of the globules increased. The best efficiency in the CEC mode was obtained with an average pore size of 600 nm. Low-density monoliths exhibited lower A- and C-terms than high-density monoliths. With the optimal monolithic material, a minimum plate height of 5 mum could be obtained. The low-density monolith also performed better in the HPLC mode, giving a minimum plate height of 15 mum and a much higher flow permeability than that of the high-density material.

No abstract

No abstract

Online comprehensive two‐dimensional liquid chromatography has become an attractive option for the analysis of complex nonvolatile samples found in various fields (e.g. environmental studies, food, life, and polymer sciences). Two‐dimensional liquid chromatography complements the highly popular hyphenated systems that combine liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. Two‐dimensional liquid chromatography is also applied to the analysis of samples that are not compatible with mass spectrometry (e.g. high‐molecular‐weight polymers), providing important information on the distribution of the sample components along chemical dimensions (molecular weight, charge, lipophilicity, stereochemistry, etc.). Also, in comparison with conventional one‐dimensional liquid chromatography, two‐dimensional liquid chromatography provides a greater separation power (peak capacity). Because of the additional selectivity and higher peak capacity, the combination of two‐dimensional liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry allows for simpler mixtures of compounds to be introduced in the ion source at any given time, improving quantitative analysis by reducing matrix effects. In this review, we summarize the rationale and principles of two‐dimensional liquid chromatography experiments, describe advantages and disadvantages of combining different selectivities and discuss strategies to improve the quality of two‐dimensional liquid chromatography separations.

No abstract

A method to optimize different objectives (total analysis time, total peak capacity, and total dilution) has been applied to comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography. The approach is based on Pareto-optimality, and it yields optimal parameters (column particle sizes, column diameters, and modulation times). Losses in the peak capacities in the first dimension (due to undersampling) and in the second dimension (due to high injection volumes) have been taken into account. The first effect (detection band broadening) reduces the original peak capacity by about a half, the second effect can reduce the total peak capacity by an additional half. Thus, the total loss in peak capacity may be 75% of its theoretical value. Analytical expressions to calculate these effects under gradient and isocratic conditions are derived. Of particular interest is the study of the optimal modulation times, which corresponded to between 2 and 3 two-dimensional runs per one-dimensional peak. The effects of using gradient or isocratic elution, conventional (40 MPa) or "ultra-high" (100 MPa) pressures, and focusing between the first and second dimensions were also studied. A trade-off between total peak capacity, total analysis time, and total dilution can be established.

In general, petrochemical products contain only a limited number of chemical classes of compounds (sample dimensionality). The enormous number of individual components within these classes, however, soon puts limitations upon a single chromatographic technique when it comes to adequate characterization of these products. Comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) clearly opens the possibility of estimating the composition of hydrocarbon mixtures in a far more detailed fashion than hitherto possible. Although the emphasis of papers of GCxGC thus far almost exclusively applies to the unsurpassed peak‐capacity, in the oil industry there is a need for characterization, rather than for analyzing all the individual compounds. In principle a GCxGC system can provide an almost perfect match between its intrinsic properties and the dimensionality of oil samples. To establish the applicability of GCxGC towards petrochemical analytical challenges, a commercially aavailable prototype instrument was subjected to an exhaustive characterization of a typical hydrocarbon precess stream and a fast characterization of a light gas oil. Although there are no fundamental limitations towards the quantitative aspects of a GCxGC system, this paper confines itself to qualitative results only. Quantitative aspects of GCxGC will be published in a forthcoming paper.