Recognition of critical pairs of polycyclic aromatics on crystalline, liquid-crystalline and isotropic regions of silica-supported polymer in HPLC

The silica-supported comb-shaped polymer (Sil-ODA18) with a “crystalline-to-isotropic” phase transition showed the characteristic behaviors of both polymeric and monomeric ODS phases. This was examined using a SRM 869 test mixture. Furthermore, Sil-ODA18 exhibited a specific selectivity towards the critical pairs of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), such as acenaphthene and fluorene, or benz(a)anthracene and chrysene, or benzo(ghi)perylene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene and dibenz(a,h)anthracene. The separation of these solutes was controlled by selecting temperature and solvent systems. The selectivity on Sil-ODA18 was also compared with a conventional ODS (octadecylsilyl silica gel) column. The selectivity on a Sil-ODA18 matrix is attributable to an orientation change of the long-chain alkyl substituents on the surface of the silica base material on transition from crystalline to isotropic state.