SEPARATION OF AQUEOUS POLYTHIONATES BY REVERSED-PHASE ION-PAIR LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH SUPPRESSOR CONDUCTIVITY DETECTION

A method for the separation of sulphate, thiosulphate and four polythi onates by reversed-phase ion-pair liquid chromatography with supressor -conductivity detection is described. The limits of detection for thes e inorganic anions varied between 0.01 and 0.30 mu g ml(-1). The effec ts of the number of sulphur atoms in polythionates, the ion-pair reage nt and the organic modifier concentration on retention were studied. I t was observed that the logarithm of the capacity factors decreases li nearly with the organic modifier concentration (C-b) and increases wit h the logarithm of the ion-pair reagent concentration (C-p) and the nu mber of sulphur atoms in the polythionates. The absolute values of int ercepts and slopes of the linear relationships of In k' vs. In C-p and In k' vs. C-b increase linearly with increasing number of sulphur ato ms in the polythionates. The method developed was applied to the deter mination of sulphate and polythionates in different gold extract solut ions.