Separation of inorganic anions by capillary ion chromatography with UV detection using poly(vinylimidazole-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolithic column.

Poly(1-vinylimidazole-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) (VIM-EDMA) monolithic stationary phase was applied for separation of inorganic anions by capillary ion chromatography (IC). The retention of inorganic anions on the VIM-EDMA column was investigated using various salt solutions as the eluent. Good separation of inorganic anions was obtained on VIM-EDMA monolithic column using NH4Cl as the eluent. Good mechanical stability and low swelling propensity values (0.12 and -0.02 for ACN and MeOH, respectively) were obtained. The column repeatability was also examined by determining the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of retention time and peak area of target anions. Relatively low RSDs (n = 7) of retention time (<2.3%) and peak area (<8.8%) were obtained on the VIM-EDMA column. The utilization of VIM-EDMA column for potential environmental application was also demonstrated by determining the occurrence of inorganic anions in various environmental water samples without sample preparation process.