New performing GC columns with unmatched separation capabilities

Gas chromatography (GC) is widely used for qualitative and quantitative analysis in numerous fields, such as petroleum, chemical industry, agriculture, environmental protection, medicine, and so on, due to its high versatility, high selectivity, simplicity of use, analysis speed, and low sample consumption. The column is the heart of a GC instrumentation, which allows the analyte separation and their recognition and quantification. Commercial columns do not always allow a complete peak separation when compounds (i.e., isomers) are very similar in molecular weight, polarity, and vapor pressure. The choice of the correct stationary phase, with high selectivity towards target analytes, is the key to obtaining the required chromatographic separation and the subsequent qualitative and quantitative analysis. Considering the rapid polymer science development and the growing demand for new columns with improved resolution capabilities, in this work novel stationary phases for capillary GC have been designed, synthesized, and characterized in terms of polarity range, resolution, column efficiency, thermal stability, filmforming properties, and support-deactivating capacity1-5. The separation features of these novel stationary phases allow high-resolution performances for a wide range of compounds, like aromatic anilines, xylenes, aromatic amines, halogenated benzenes, and aromatic aldehydes, with marked capabilities toward isomer separations.