Meiling Qi

Monolithic graphene fibers for solid-phase microextraction

Monolithic graphene fibers for solid-phase microextraction (SPME) were fabricated through a dimensionally confined hydrothermal strategy and their extraction performance was evaluated. For the fiber fabrication, a glass pipeline was innovatively used as a hydrothermal reactor instead of a Teflon-lined autoclave. Compared with conventional methods for SPME fibers, the proposed strategy can fabricate a uniform graphene fiber as long as several meters or more at a time. Coupled to capillary gas chromatography (GC), the monolithic graphene fibers in a direct-immersion (DI) mode achieved higher extraction efficiencies for aromatics than those for n-alkanes, especially for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), thanks to π-π stacking interaction and hydrophobic effect. Additionally, the fibers exhibited excellent durability and can be repetitively used more than 160 times without significant loss of extraction performance. As a result, an optimum extraction condition of 40°C for 50min with 20% NaCl (w/w) was finally used for SPME of PAHs in aqueous samples. For the determination of PAHs in water samples, the proposed DI-SPME-GC method exhibited linear range of 0.05-200μg/L, limits of detection (LOD) of 4.0-50ng/L, relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 9.4% and 12.1% for one fiber and different fibers, respectively, and recoveries of 78.9-115.9%. The proposed method can be used for analysis of PAHs in environmental water samples.

Performance of graphene sheets as stationary phase for capillary gas chromatographic separations.

This work presents the investigation of graphene as a new type of stationary phase for capillary GC separations. Graphene capillary column (0.25 mm, i.d.) achieved column efficiency of 3100 plates/m determined by n-dodecane at 120 °C. The obtained McReynolds constants suggested the weakly polar nature of graphene sheets as GC stationary phase. As evidenced, graphene stationary phase differs from the conventional phase (5% phenyl polysiloxane) in its resolving ability and retention behaviors, and achieved better separation for the Grob and other mixtures. The advantages of graphene stationary phase may mainly originate from its specific π-π stacking interaction as well as H-bonding interaction. Furthermore, graphene column exhibited good repeatability with relative standard deviation (RSD%) in the range of 0.01-0.07% for run-to-run and 2.5-6.7% for column-to-column, respectively.

Cucurbit[n]urils as a new class of stationary phases for gas chromatographic separations.

Cucurbit[n]urils (CBs) possess unique structures and physicochemical properties as well as excellent thermal stability. These characteristics concur to make them good candidates for stationary phases in capillary gas chromatographic (GC) separations. Herein, CB7 and CB8 in neat (CB7, CB8) and binary (CB7-CB8) forms were investigated for this purpose. After they were statically coated onto fused silica capillary columns, the CB columns were evaluated in terms of chromatographic parameters, separation performance, thermal stability and column repeatability. The columns had efficiencies ranging from 1060 to 2200 plates per meter determined by n-dodecane at 100°C and exhibited nonpolar to weakly polar nature. These CBs columns showed good separation performance for a wide range of analytes such as n-alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, esters, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and the Grob mixture, and exhibited nice peak shapes for analytes that are liable to peak-tailing in GC analysis. The results also proved the good column repeatability and thermal stability of the CB columns. No noticeable decreases in both retention times and resolution or appreciable baseline drift were observed after the columns were conditioned up to 250°C (CB8 and CB7-CB8 columns) or 280°C (CB7 column). This work demonstrates the promising future of CBs as a new class of GC stationary phase. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on using CB stationary phases in capillary GC separations.

Chromatographic selectivity of graphene capillary column pretreated with bio-inspired polydopamine polymer

This work reports the first example of employing bio-inspired polydopamine (PDA) in capillary column fabrication of a graphene stationary phase (denoted as G-PDA@capillary) for gas chromatographic (GC) separations. The as-fabricated G-PDA@capillary column achieved improved column efficiency of 3400 plates per m and separation performance in contrast to the graphene column without PDA (G@capillary). In particular, it exhibited high selectivity and resolving ability for alkane isomers, alcohol isomers, substituted benzenes with diverse groups and many other types of analytes. Additionally, the G-PDA@capillary column showed good repeatability with RSD values less than 0.02% for run-to-run, 0.16% for day-to-day and 5.0% for column-to-column, respectively, and thermal stability up to 300 °C. This work demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed strategy by integrating graphene sheets with PDA coating, which is efficient in addressing the current problem with graphene sheets and exploring its full potential in GC separations.

Cucurbit[6]uril in combination with guanidinium ionic liquid as a new type of stationary phase for capillary gas chromatography

Cucurbit[n]urils (CBs) possess unique structures and selective interactions with analytes of different variety and high thermal stability and show a great potential as stationary phases for capillary gas chromatography (GC). This work presents the first description of CB6 in combination with a new guanidinium-based ionic liquid (GBIL) as the GC stationary phase by using sol-gel coating method for the preparation of the CB6-GBIL and GBIL columns. Introduction of GBIL greatly improved the solubility of CB6 in the sol solution and successfully made the use of CBs for the intended purpose feasible. The CB6-GBIL and GBIL columns had average polarity of 179 and 280, respectively, suggesting their medium polar nature. The CB6-GBIL column achieves good resolution for a wide range of analytes and exhibits different retention behaviors and resolution for some of the analytes from the GBIL column and the commercial column. Moreover, it also shows good thermal stability up to 250°C. The proposed method integrates the full advantages of CBs, ionic liquids and sol-gel coating method and provides an efficient and feasible way for the wider application of CBs in separation science.

Graphene-ZIF8 composite material as stationary phase for high-resolution gas chromatographic separations of aliphatic and aromatic isomers.

This work presents the separation performance of graphene-ZIF8 (G-Z) composite material as stationary phase for capillary gas chromatography (GC). The G-Z stationary phase achieved high column efficiency of 5000 plates/m determined by n-dodecane (k=1.22) at 120°C and showed weakly polar nature. Importantly, it exhibited high selectivity and resolving capability for branched alkane isomers and aromatic positional isomers, showing clear advantages over the reported neat graphene and ZIF8. In addition, it attained high resolution for geometric cis-/trans-isomers. The G-Z column exhibited good column thermal stability up to 300°C and column repeatability with RSD values of retention times in the range of 0.01-0.19% for intra-day, 0.05-0.88% for inter-day and 0.66-5.6% for between-column, respectively, Moreover, the G-Z column was employed for the determination of minor impurity isomers in real reagent samples, which demonstrates its promising potential in GC applications.

Separation performance of cucurbit[7]uril in ionic liquid-based sol-gel coating as stationary phase for capillary gas chromatography.

Here we report the separation performance of a new stationary phase of cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) incorporated into an ionic liquid-based sol-gel coating (CB7-SG) for capillary gas chromatography (GC). The CB7-SG stationary phase showed an average polarity of 455, suggesting its polar nature. Abraham system constants revealed that its major interactions with analytes include H-bond basicity (a), dipole-dipole (s) and dispersive (l) interactions. The CB7-SG stationary phase achieved baseline separation for a wide range of analytes with symmetrical peak shapes and showed advantages over the conventional polar stationary phase that failed to resolve some critical analytes. Also, it exhibited different retention behaviors from the conventional stationary phase in terms of retention times and elution order. Most interestingly, in contrast to the conventional polar phase, the CB7-SG stationary phase exhibited longer retentions for analytes of lower polarity but relatively comparable retentions for polar analytes such as alcohols and phenols. The high resolving ability and unique retention behaviors of the CB7-SG stationary phase may stem from the comprehensive interactions of the aforementioned interactions and shape selectivity. Moreover, the CB7-SG column showed good peak shapes for analytes prone to peak tailing, good thermal stability up to 280°C and separation repeatability with RSD values in the range of 0.01-0.11% for intra-day, 0.04-0.41% for inter-day and 2.5-6.0% for column-to-column, respectively. As demonstrated, the proposed coating method can simultaneously address the solubility problem with CBs for the intended purpose and achieve outstanding GC separation performance.

Separation performance of cucurbit[8]uril and its coordination complex with cadmium (II) in capillary gas chromatography

Here we report the investigation of using cucurbit[8]uril (CB8) and its coordination complex with cadmium (II) (CB8-Cd) as stationary phases for capillary gas chromatography (GC). The prepared capillary columns of CB8 and CB8-Cd stationary phases achieved column efficiency of 2200plates/m and 1508plates/m, respectively, and showed weak polarity based on the measured McReynolds constants. Their separation performance was investigated by GC separation of mixtures of different types while a commercial column was used for comparison. The CB8 stationary phase achieved high resolution for a wide range of analytes from nonpolar to polar while the CB8-Cd stationary phase exhibited good separation mainly for nonpolar to weak polar analytes. The CB stationary phases differ from the commercial one in terms of retention behaviors and resolving ability due to their different molecular interactions with analytes. Moreover, energy effect on the retention of analytes on CB8 and CB8-Cd stationary phases was examined, showing that retention on CB8 column was determined mainly by enthalpy change for polar analytes and by both enthalpy change and entropy change for weak polar analytes whereas retention on CB8-Cd column was mainly controlled by entropy change. This work demonstrates the great potential of CB8 and CB8-Cd stationary phases as a new type of GC stationary phases in GC analysis.

Calix[4]pyrroles: highly selective stationary phases for gas chromatographic separations.

Calix[4]pyrroles offer a great potential as stationary phases for gas chromatography (GC) due to their unique structures and physicochemical properties. Herein we present the first report of using two calix[4]pyrroles, namely meso-tetra-cyclohexylcalix[4]pyrrole (THCP) and meso-octamethylcalix[4]pyrrole (OMCP). These stationary phases were statically coated onto capillary columns and investigated in terms of column efficiency, polarity, separation performance, thermal stability and repeatability. The columns achieved column efficiencies of 2200-3000plates/m and exhibited nonpolar nature with an average polarity of 67 for THCP and 64 for OMCP, respectively. THCP stationary phase shows high selectivity for analytes of different polarity and exhibits nice peak shapes, especially for aldehydes, alcohols and anilines that are prone to severe peak tailing in GC analysis. Interestingly, THCP stationary phase possesses superior resolving ability for aniline and benzenediol positional isomers while OMCP shows preferential selectivity for nonpolar analytes such as hexane isomers. Moreover, calix[4]pyrrole columns also have good thermal stability up to 260°C and repeatability with a relative standard deviation (RSD%) of less than 0.10% for run-to-run and less than 5.2% for column-to-column. This work demonstrates the unique separation performance of calix[4]pyrroles and their promising future as a new class of GC stationary phases.

Graphitic carbon nitride as high-resolution stationary phase for gas chromatographic separations

This work presents the first example of utilization of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) as stationary phase for capillary gas chromatographic (GC) separations. The statically coated g-C3N4 column showed the column efficiencies of 3760 plates/m and weak polarity. Its resolving capability and retention behaviours were investigated by using the Grob test mixture, and mixtures of diverse types of analytes, and structural and positional isomers. The results showed superior separation performance of the g-C3N4 stationary phase for some critical analytes and preferential retention for aromatic analytes. Specifically, it exhibited high-resolution capability for aromatic and aliphatic isomers such as methylnaphthalenes and dimethylnaphthalenes, phenanthrene and anthracene and alkane isomers. In addition, g-C3N4 column showed excellent thermal stability up to 280°C and good repeatability with relative standard deviation (RSD) values less than 0.09% for intra-day, below 0.23% for inter-day and in the range of 1.9-8.4% for between-column, respectively. The advantageous separation performance shows the potential of g-C3N4 and related materials as stationary phase in GC and other separation technologies.