A study of polyethoxylated alkylphenols by packed column supercritical fluid chromatography
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidants for Cosmetic Applications Using Polyol-Based Technology
Published on: August 23, 2024
Brian J Hoffman1, Larry T Taylor
1Virginia Tech, Department of Chemistry, Blacksburg 24061-0212, USA.
Abstract:
Alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APEs) are a widely used group of nonionic surfactants in commercial production. Characterization of the composition of APE mixtures can be exploited for the determination of their most effective uses. In this study sample mixtures contain nonylphenol polyethoxylates and octylphenol polyethoxylates. The separation of individual alkylphenols by ethoxylate units is performed by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC)-UV as well as normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC)-UV employing packed columns. The stationary phase and column length are varied in the SFC setup to produce the most favorable separation conditions. Additionally, combinations of packed columns of different stationary phases are tested. The combination of a diol and a cyano column is found to produce optimal results. An advantage of using packed columns instead of capillary columns is the ability to inject large amounts of sample and thus collect eluted fractions. In this regard, fractions from SFC runs are collected and analyzed by flow injection analysis-electrospray ionization-mass spectroscopy in order to positively identify the composition of the fractions. In comparing the separation of APE mixtures by SFC and HPLC, it is found that SFC provides shorter retention times with similar resolution. In addition, less solvent waste is produced using SFC.
More Related Videos
07:06Investigating Long-Distance Transport of Perfluoroalkyl Acids in Wheat via a Split-Root Exposure Technique
Published on: September 28, 2022
09:04Identifying Per- and Polyfluorinated Chemical Species with a Combined Targeted and Non-Targeted-Screening High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Workflow
Published on: April 18, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Supercritical Fluid Chromatography
SFC utilizes a supercritical fluid mobile phase,...
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography: Introduction
In HPLC, two phases play a critical role in the separation process:
Gas Chromatography: Types of Columns and Stationary Phases
For an analyte to remain on the column for a sufficient amount of time, it must exhibit some level of compatibility (or...
Analyte Adsorption and Distribution
Principles Of Column Chromatography
Size-Exclusion Chromatography
Silica particles offer advantages such as rigidity,...