Influence of moderate Joule heating on electroosmotic flow velocity, retention, and efficiency in capillary electrochromatography

The influence of Joule heating on electroosmotic flow velocity, the retention factor of neutral analytes, and separation efficiency in capillary electrochromatography was investigated theoretically and experimentally. A plot of electrical current against the applied electrical field strength was used to evaluate the Joule heating effect. When the mobile phase concentration of Tris buffer exceeded 5.0 mM in the studied capillary electrochromatography systems using particulate and monolithic columns (with an accompanying power level of heat dissipation higher than 0.35 W/m), the Joule heating effect became clearly noticeable. Theoretical models for describing the variation of electroosmotic flow velocity with increasing applied field strength and the change of retention factors for neutral analytes with electrical field strength at higher Tris buffer concentrations were analyzed to explain consequences of Joule heating in capillary electrochromatography. Qualitative agreement between experimental data and implications of the theoretical model analysis was observed. The decrease of separation efficiency in capillary electrochromatography with macroporous octadecylsilica particles at high buffer concentration can be also attributed to Joule heating mainly via the increased axial diffusion of the analyte molecules and dispersion of solute bands by a nonuniform electroosmotic flow profile over the column cross-section. However, within a moderate temperature range, the contribution of the macroscopic velocity profile in the column arising from radial temperature gradients is insignificant.