RETENTION CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME SELECTED HALOGENATED ENVIRONMENTAL-POLLUTANTS IN SILICA AND BONDED NORMAL-PHASE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

Seven bonded stationary phases and unmodified silica were investigated regarding their retention properties towards a number of halogenated environmental pollutants including 26 individual polychlorinated biphe nyl congeners. No simple retention-structure relationship was found fo r the polychlorinated biphenyls but a number of phases demonstrated si milar selectivities towards the investigated congeners. The retention of compounds with aliphatic carbons were substantially influenced by t he presence of hydrogens possessing acidic properties due to inductive effects of adjacent chlorine or oxygen atoms. Solute molecule ether o xygens were shown to promote retention by hydrogen bonding only on sil ica and phenylpropyl silica. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers demonstrat ed a complex retention behaviour on the different stationary phases. I ndication was found that bromine may be directly involved in the reten tion mechanism.