One- and two dimensional chromatographic analysis of alcohol ethoxylates

Two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2DLC) is an increasingly popular technique which has the potential to provide a far more detailed separation and characterization of alcohol ethoxylates (AE) than has been shown by previously utilized separation techniques. The AE are unique in that these molecules have distributions in both alkyl and ethylene oxide chain lengths. In this paper, we compare the single-column techniques of open-tubular SFC, normal- and reversed-phase HPLC, and the multiple column technique of 2DLC in terms of the efficacy of separation and characterization of the alkyl and ethoxylate distributions in a select group of AE. The combination of normal- and reversed-phase HPLC in a 2DLC system accomplishes the simultaneous alkyl and ethylene oxide distribution analysis. The advantage of using 2DLC over one-dimensional chromatographic techniques is clearly demonstrated in the increased selectivity resulting in the ability to produce the ethylene oxide distributions of each alkyl component in an AE, In addition, 2DLC chromatograms are easier to interpret due to ordering of the chromatograms.