Selection of the porous layer open tubular columns for separation of light components in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography.

Up to the present, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography was commonly performed using combinations of columns with stationary liquid phases. There are singular examples with a porous layer open tubular (PLOT) column used only in the second dimension. However, GC × GC systems with two PLOT columns are not reported in the literature. Our work describes the application of two PLOT columns in the GC × GC mode. In the first and second dimensions we used columns with the sorbents based on organic porous polymers with different selectivity: Rt-Q-BOND (nonpolar column consist of 100% divinylbenzene-styrene), Rt-S-BOND (intermediate polar column, which contain 4-vinylpyridine), Rt-U-BOND (polar column based on divinylbenzene - ethylene glycol dimethylacrylate copolymer), DVB-VIm (divinylbenzene-vinylimidazole copolymer), a column PTMSP with poly-(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne) sorbent, and a GASPRO column with porous silica as a stationary phase. The degree of orthogonality was calculated for five different combinations of columns, where a column with the porous polymer was used in the first dimension, and GASPRO column - in the second dimension. Orthogonality was estimated from the correlation coefficient of retention times in the first and second dimensions. Examples of the separation of C-C hydrocarbons on a combination of PTMSP - GASPRO and Rt-Q-BOND - GASPRO columns are reported. It is shown that not only light hydrocarbons but also compounds belonging to different chemical classes can be separated with the use of PLOT columns.