Sputtered alumina as a novel stationary phase for micro machined gas chromatography columns.

Haudebourg, R.; Matouk, Z.; Zoghlami, E.; Azzouz, I.; Danaie, K.; Sassiat, P.; Thiebaut, D.; Vial, J.

Silica and graphite sputtering have previously been reported as novel solid stationary phase deposition techniques for micro gas chromatography columns. As a conventional solid stationary phase in gas chromatography, compatible with sputtering yet so far unreported, alumina was evaluated in this study. Alumina sputtered semi-packed micro columns were fabricated (including an activation step) and proved able to separate a mixture of volatile alkanes (C-C with isomers) in less than 1 min. Kinetic and a thermodynamic evaluation led to calculation of 4,500 theoretical plates for ethane in 1.1 m (HETP = 250 μm) and a Gibbs free energy for propane of 30.2 kJ mol, making this stationary phase's properties very close to those observed with silica-sputtered micro columns.

STATIONARY phase (Chromatography); ALUMINUM oxide; SPUTTERING (Physics); SILICA; THEORETICAL plate number

Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2014, Vol 406, Issue 4, p1245

1618-2642

Academic Journal

10.1007/s00216-013-7289-z