Electrochemical properties of columns in capillary electrochromatography

The most commonly used type of column in capillary electrochromatography (CEC) consists of a packed segment and an open (but buffer-filled) segment. The two segments differ importantly in two respects: firstly, their electrical resistivity; and secondly, their zeta potentials at a multitude of solid-liquid interfaces. Determination of the magnitude of these properties for each segment cannot be made using only results from the column as a whole. Instead, measurements of resistivity and zeta potentials of an entirely open, unpacked column can be used in conjunction with those of the CEC column to determine the electrochemical nature of both segments. This review of basic electrochemical properties will describe simple procedures that can be used to determine resistance, resistivity, conductivity, conductance, and field strength in each segment. In addition, it will be shown how the properties of each segment add together to give the same properties of the CEC column as a whole. The equations so derived will be applied to data from the literature and conclusions drawn from the results.