Institute of Chemistry of Renewable Resources, Department of Chemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Konrad-Lorenz-Strasse 24, 3430, Tulln, Austria.
Sappi Europe, Sappi Papier Holding GmbH, Bruckner Strasse 21, 8101, Gratkorn, Austria.
ChemSusChem. 2020 Sep 7;13(17):4595-4604. doi: 10.1002/cssc.202000849. Epub 2020 Jun 29.
Lignosulfonates are bulk-scale byproducts of industrial sulfite pulping. Their amphiphilic character plays a central role in their successful application in large-scale materials production. As an inherent feature of the chemical structure, this amphiphilic character poses a major analytical challenge. In this study, the amphiphilic behavior of an industrial lignosulfonate was investigated by hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC). This technique exploits hydrophobic regions present on the surface of lignosulfonates. Extensive characterization of the obtained fractions from preparative HIC, in terms of elemental composition, functional-group content, chemical structure, and molecular weight distribution, revealed a detailed picture of the chemical composition distribution. The charge-to-size ratio, that is, differences in the degree of sulfonation, was the dominant factor governing separation in HIC. A combination of HIC with size exclusion chromatography showed good orthogonality of separation and demonstrated the power of this 2 D liquid chromatography approach for an in-depth characterization, in general, and amphiphilicity, in particular.
木质素磺酸盐是工业亚硫酸盐制浆的大规模副产物。其两亲性特征在大规模材料生产中的成功应用中起着核心作用。作为化学结构的固有特征，这种两亲性特征带来了主要的分析挑战。在这项研究中，通过疏水相互作用色谱（HIC）研究了工业木质素磺酸盐的两亲行为。该技术利用木质素磺酸盐表面存在的疏水区域。通过对制备性 HIC 获得的馏分进行广泛的元素组成、官能团含量、化学结构和分子量分布的表征，揭示了化学组成分布的详细情况。荷质比，即磺化程度的差异，是 HIC 中分离的主要因素。HIC 与尺寸排阻色谱的结合显示出良好的分离正交性，并证明了这种 2D 液相色谱方法在深入表征，特别是在两亲性方面的强大功能。
