A new imidazolium-embedded C18 stationary phase with enhanced performance in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Highlights: ► Imidazolium-embedded C18 stationary phase was prepared and characterized. ► Enhanced chromatographic selectivity was observed in SiImC18 column. ► Seven nucleosides and bases were separated using only water as eluent within 8 min. ► Multiple-interactions induced by embedded polar imidazolium was investigated. - Abstract: In this paper, a new imidazolium-embedded C18 stationary phase (SiImC18) for reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is described. 1-Allyl-3-octadecylimidazolium bromide ionic liquid compound having a long alkyl chain and reactive groups was newly prepared and grafted onto 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane-modified silica via a surface-initiated radical-chain transfer addition reaction. The SiImC18 obtained was characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform, and solid-state 13C and 29Si cross-polarization/magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The selectivity toward polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons relative to that toward alkylbenzenes exhibited by SiImC18 was higher than the corresponding selectivity exhibited by a conventional octadecyl silica (ODS) column, which could be explained by electrostatic π–π interaction cationic imidazolium and electron-rich aromatic rings. On the other hand, SiImC18 also showed high selectivity for polar compounds, which was based on the multiple interaction and retention mechanisms of this phase with different analytes. 1,6-Dinitropyrene and 1,8-dinitropyrene, which form a positional isomer pair of dipolar compounds, were separated successfully with the SiImC18 phase. Seven nucleosides and bases (i.e. cytidine, uracil, uridine, thymine, guanosine, xanthosine, and adenosine) were separated using only water as the mobile phase within 8 min, which is difficult to achieve when using conventional hydrophobic columns such as ODS. The combination of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions is important for the effective separation of such basic compounds without the use of any organic additive as the eluent in the octadecylimidazolium column.