Preparation of a sulfoxide group and ammonium-salt bonded silica stationary phase for separation of polychlorinated biphenyls from mineral oils

In this study, a silica stationary phase modified with sulfoxide group and ammonium-salt was prepared for the separation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from mineral oils, and its properties were investigated. Organic sulfide was attached to a diamino (primary and secondary amino) bonded silica surface by an amide bond, and the bonded sulfide groups were oxidized with periodate to afford sulfoxide groups bonded to the stationary phase. The secondary amino groups in the spacer chain were converted to ammonium-salt by the addition of hydrochloric acid. The sulfoxide group and ammonium-salt bonded stationary phase was tested for their suitability as adsorbent for SPE-type preparative short columns and for an analytical HPLC-type separation. The new stationary phase (1.2 mmol of sulfur bonded per gram) separated PCBs from mineral oils (paraffin-based transformer oils) more efficiently than previously reported stationary phases including sulfoxide group or ammonium-salt bonded ones. The quantitative chromatographic parameters for an aliphatic hydrocarbon (eicosane) and some PCB congeners also indicated strong retention of highly chlorinated biphenyls by the sulfoxide and ammonium-salt bonded silica compared with simple aminopropyl, sulfoxide group or ammonium-salt bonded ones. A cleanup procedure was established for simple determination of PCBs in mineral oil samples using sulfoxide group and ammonium-salt bonded silica packed column fractionation. The analytical method, combination of the cleanup procedure, and measurement with a GC–high resolution (magnetic sector) MS or a GC–quadrupole MS were validated using mineral oil certified reference materials.