Separation of inorganic anions by liquid chromatography with crown ether as eluent additive.

Inorganic anions were separated on a reversed-phase stationary phase dynamically modified with crown ether as a selector in capillary ion chromatography. The eluent contained crown ether, acetonitrile and a salt. Free and cation-trapped crown ether molecules in the eluent were adsorbed on a hydrophobic stationary phase such as triacontyl-functionalized silica (C30). The eluent cations trapped on crown ether worked as the ion-exchange sites, where the eluent anions and the analyte anions were competing for electrostatic interaction. The sizes of crown ether and the salt cation affected the retention of analyte anions. The concentrations of acetonitrile and crown ether as well as the eluent anion also affected the retention of analyte anions. An aqueous solution containing 18-crown-6-ether, potassium salt and acetonitrile achieved larger retention for analyte anions. Effects of the eluent conditions on the retention of analyte anions were examined in detail.