Capillary liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography using silica hydride stationary phases

A hydride-based octadecyl stationary phase on both 4.0 and 1.8 μm silica particles is tested in both the capillary LC and the pressurized capillary electrochromatography (pCEC) modes. These two materials are compared to standard C18 stationary phase made by organosilanization and to the hydride material packed into a convention 4.6 mm I.D. column. The performance of the capillary columns is evaluated in terms of analysis times for various mixtures as well as efficiency. Of particular interest are the differences between the LC mode where only laminar flow is present and pCEC operation where a flat electrodriven flow profile is superimposed on the parabolic pressurized flow. Differences in performance between columns packed with 4.0 and 1.8 μm particle silica are also evaluated.