New possibilities in ion chromatography using porous monolithic stationary-phase media

In recent years, interest has increased in using porous monolithic stationary-phase media for high-performance separations of inorganic and organic ions. Silica and polymer-based monoliths have been produced with either bonded or coated ionic sites for anion and cation separations. These new monolithic materials have facilitated the development of a number of new approaches to the chromatographic separation of ions. These include low- and medium-pressure ion chromatography (IC), ultra-fast IC, the use of flow gradients and double gradients in IC, capillary IC and finally, multi-column/multi-dimensional IC. In this article, we review these new developments in ion analysis together for the first time.