Synthesis and Characterization of Silica Hydride-Based Pentynoic Acid Stationary Phase

High performance liquid chromatography is an important analytical technique used for the separation and identification of components in a mixture. The aim of this research project was to synthesize and characterize a silica hydride-based pentynoic acid stationary phase. Analytical techniques like elemental analysis and diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFT) were used to confirm the success of bonding between silica hydride and pentynoic acid moiety. The pentynoic acid Si-H column allows for retention of both polar and non-polar compounds by carefully selecting the concentration ratio of organic solvent to water in the mobile phase. The characterization of the column was done using a series of polar and nonpolar compounds by studying their aqueous normal-phase and reversed-phase chromatographic behavior. The interactions between the stationary phase and the analyte include both hydrophobic and ionic/electrostatic interactions. The effect of varying the pH of the mobile phase on retention time was examined. The column’s ability to run under reverse and aqueous normal phase conditions provides unmatched versatility compared to type-B silica columns