Cations on Ion Chromatography by Phosphate-Coated Zirconia Stationary Phase Column

Ion chromatography of inorganic cations using a phosphate-coated zirconia stationary phase (PZ) was first attempted. The retentions of cations to PZ increased by elevating the column temperature and the reproducibility of the separation could improve at the higher temperature. The PZ functioned as a cation-exchanger from changes in the retention factor of cations as a function of eluent pH. Furthermore, the Gibbs free energies of cations were estimated from enthalpy and entropy using the retention factors of cations as a function of the column temperature. The reaction was based on the endothermic reaction.