Development of capillary column packed with thiol-modified gold-coated polystyrene particles and its selectivity for aromatic compounds

Three types of thiol compounds (n-octadecanethiol, thiophenol, and 2-phenylethanethiol) were used to modify the gold-coated polystyrene particles (dp. 5 μm) to prepare a stationary phase for capillary liquid chromatography through the formation of self-assembled monolayer. The column with n-octadecanethiol-modified gold-coated polystyrene particles (C18-Au) demonstrated the higher affinity to phenanthrene and anthracene than small aromatics compared to the ODS column. In addition, the shape selectivity between phenanthrene and anthracene in the C18-Au column was much higher than that in the ODS column (separation factors: 1.82 and 1.14, respectively). The relationship between the retention factor and acetonitrile content in the mobile phase revealed that the retention behaviors in the C18-Au column was more sensitive on the acetonitrile content than those in the ODS column. Relatively higher affinity for phenanthrene and anthracene was commonly observed in all the three thiol-modified Au columns than that for the conventional ODS column, whereas separations of benzene and nitro- and chlorobenzenes were quite different among the three thiol-modified Au and ODS columns.