Aleksandra Zatirakha
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
Title: Novel high performance polymer-based anion exchangers for ion chromatography
Biography
Biography: Aleksandra Zatirakha
Abstract
Since the introduction of ion chromatography (IC), this method has developed into the most powerful tool for the determination of inorganic and organic anions of low and high molecular weight. In the last decade the developments in the field of IC were aimed at increasing efficiency, sensitivity and rapidity of analysis, as well as at improving separation selectivity. Since selectivity and efficiency to the large extent depend on the surface chemistry of the stationary phase, the development of novel anion exchangers remains one of the priority tasks in modern IC. Anion exchangers for suppressed IC should be mechanically stable and withstand high pH values, which makes aromatic copolymers such as polystyrene-divinylbenzene (PS-DVB) or ethylvinylbenzene-divinylbenzene (EVB-DVB) the most suitable supports for obtaining such stationary phases. Chemical derivatization of polymer surface is considered to have certain restrictions in terms of providing high efficiency; however, some modern IC columns show that such technique can certainly be used for obtaining high performance anion exchangers. Novel chemically derivatized polymeric anion exchangers developed at Chemistry Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University are compatible with hydroxide eluents and enable efficient and selective separation of 15 anions in 30 minutes, including oxyhalides (chlorite, chlorate, bromate), weakly retained organic acids (glycolate, acetate, formate, propionate), so-called standard inorganic anions (fluoride, chloride, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, phosphate and sulphate), and carbonate. The variation of the functional ion-exchange layer’s structure provides the possibility to easily govern selectivity and efficiency of the obtained anion exchangers.