Explain the Basic Concept of Gas Chromatography Column

Explain the Basic Concept of Gas Chromatography Column We can trace the history of chromatography back to nearly a century when it was initially used to differentiate between plant pigments.

If we dig a little deeper into the etymology of the word “Chromatography”, it literally means “color writing”. The proud moment came in 1952 when Nobel Prize was conferred to English chemists Richard Synge and Archer Martin for the development of partition chromatography which technically made the blueprint for gas chromatography.

In an analytical ecosystem, GC is used for analysis as well as separation of compounds mainly of organic nature. The tricky part is that we have to keep in mind that do not decompose while getting vaporized. We can also use this technique in determining the purity of a substance and separating different parts of a mixture. Moreover in some specialized chromatography processes, one can also prepare pure compounds from a mixture.

If we want to understand the basic concept of gas chromatography we have to just memorize the below-mentioned flow chart.

• The sample gas is amalgamated with carrier gas which is inert in nature.

• The mixture of gases is moved into a column or a column series where physical separation takes place.

• As the gases are separated now they are pushed into a detector which is capable to show the data as depicting the quantity of the gases in the study.

This process can be done both manually and in an automated manner.

The device which is used for separating chemical compounds is known as a column which is an indispensable part of the apparatus of gas chromatography. It is of two types i.e packed columns and capillary columns.

Normally gas chromatography column suppliers manufacture both types of devices but we will check out the latter one in detail.

You will find a thin glass tube with fused silica, it will have a lining of adsorbent h=material or you can say a liquid phase which is a chemically bonding layer. The main features of this column are that they produce a sharp peak, have high detection sensitivity, and have a shorter analysis time.

The physical aspects of the capillary column depend upon the required amount of separation and what is the analytical objective of the chromatography.

1. If we require a high resolution of separation the internal diameter should be thin and the length should belong.

2. If we want that analysis time should be short and we can adjust with the separation we will require a thick internal diameter, with thin coating and length can be kept as short.

3. When the boiling point of the matter is low coating should be thick and the length should belong.

4. If the sample is of high boiling point cofounds short length will be sufficient and coating can be thin as well.

Applications: - GC is applied to myriad samples like petroleum, solvents, perfumes, environmental compounds, aromatic compounds, Agricultural chemicals, etc. It can also be used for polar compounds like methyl esters and fatty acids.

Temperature range- The operational temperature range for GC is very wide from -60°C to 340 °C.

Capillary columns types:There are two types of capillary columns PLOT columns – Porous layer open tube columns. These are majorly used for the analysis of gases and solutes with low boiling points.

WCOT Columns- Wall coated open tube columns. These are known for good retention and sensitivity.

All in all, we have to do comprehensive research while choosing the capillary column which is appropriate for our analysis.

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