Preparation and applications of surface-confined ionic-liquid stationary phases for liquid chromatography

• Surface-confined ionic liquids (SCILs) are useful ligands for HPLC stationary phases.
• SCILs exhibit outstanding multimodal operability.
• The preparations and the applications of SCILs are reviewed.
• Practicable new preparative strategies are proposed for SCILs.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are a class of substances completely comprised of ions. Due to their unique properties (e.g., electric conductivity, low volatility, thermostability and tenability), their use has attracted considerable interest, including an increasing number of publications on their use in preparing stationary phases (SPs) of high-performance liquid chromatography. We highlight the existing pathways for making IL-based SPs, and we propose potential strategies for synthesis. We also give up-to-date information on their applications in different chromatographic modes.