Fast separations at elevated temperatures on polybutadiene-coated zirconia reversed-phase material.

This paper describes the results of thermal stability studies of polybutadiene-coated zirconia reversed phases and application to fast HPLC separations at elevated temperatures and high flow rates. The thermal stability of the material was evaluated at temperatures up to 200 degrees C, and the rapid analyses of polyaromatic hydrocarbons and typical reversed-phase test mixtures were carried out at 100 degrees C and a flow rate of 5 mL/min. We found that the material is completely stable at 200 degrees C for at least 1300 column volumes. Analysis time can be decreased about 18-fold at high temperatures and flow rates without any significant loss in resolution relative to that at conventional temperatures and normal flow rates. For the separation of a five-component reversed-phase test mixture, the analysis time was only 50 s.