Characterization of a new stationary phase based on microwave immobilized polybutadiene on titanium oxide-modified silica

Titanium oxide-modified silica was prepared by reaction of silica with titanium tetrabutoxide and then was used as support in the preparation of stationary phases with self-immobilized polybutadiene (PBD) and PBD immobilized through microwave radiation. Chromatographic performance of the stationary phases was evaluated in terms of the efficiency (plates/m), asymmetry (As), retention factor (k) and resolution (Rs) of two standard sample mixtures, one of then containing the basic compound N,N-dimethylaniline. A microwave irradiation of 30 min at 520 W gave the best efficiency (86,500 N m−1), greater than that of a 6-day self immobilized phase (69,500 N m−1). Self-immobilized stationary phases prepared with bare silica were also studied for comparison. These resulted in lower chromatographic performance, 43,800 N m−1, when compared to the self-immobilized phase prepared with titanized silica.