Separation and determination of nitrobenzenes by micellar electrokinetic chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography

A micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method and a high-performance liquid chromatographic method are proposed for the separation and determination of a mixture of 12 nitrobenzenes and their reduction products, namely 4-nitro-1,2-phenylenediamine, 4-nitro-1,3-phenylenediamine, 2-nitro-1,4-phenylenediamine, 2-nitroaniline, 3-nitroaniline, 4-nitroaniline, 4-amino-2-nitrophenol, 2-amino-5-nitrophenol, 2-amino-4-nitrophenol, 2-nitrophenol, 3-nitrophenol, and 4-nitrophenol. A solution of 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 10% ethanol in 23 mM sodium borate buffer was used as the electrophoretic medium. Good resolution could be obtained by the addition of tetrahydrofuran to the liquid chromatographic mobile phase. The retention and migration behavior of the nitrobenzenes are discussed.