DEVELOPMENT OF AN ELUOTROPIC SERIES FOR THE CHROMATOGRAPHY OF LEWIS-BASES ON ZIRCONIUM-OXIDE

Ligand-exchange interactions, which dominate the retention characteristics of Lewis base solutes on zirconium oxide, can be strongly attenuated by the addition of a competing Lewis base to the eluent. The chromatographic effects of these competing bases vary significantly in their thermodynamics and kinetics depending on their structure and Lewis basicity. An eluotropic scale of mobile-phase strength for ligand-exchange/ion-exchange chromatography on zirconia has been developed which ranks the overall elution strength of a variety of Lewis bases in terms of their ability to elute a wide variety of benzoic acid derivatives. This series generally holds true for similar solutes; however, deviations are noted with some solutes and eluents where chelation and steric factors alter the kinetic and thermodynamic characteristics of the retention process.