# In-Column Dehydration Benzyl Alcohols and Their Chromatographic Behavior on Pyridinium-Based Ionic Liquids as Gas Stationary Phases

## TL;DR

This study explores how pyridinium-based ionic liquids behave as gas chromatography stationary phases, revealing unique selectivity and unexpected in-column dehydration effects.

## Contribution

The first investigation into retention patterns of substituted aromatic alcohols on pyridinium-based ionic liquids as stationary phases.

## Key findings

- Pyridinium-based ionic liquids show different selectivity compared to standard polar phases like polyethylene glycol.
- In-column dehydration was observed for some substituted benzyl alcohols, indicating possible reactions between analytes and the stationary phase.
- QSRR analysis revealed distinct descriptor contributions for the two stationary phases, explaining their selectivity differences.

## Abstract

At present, stationary phases based on ionic liquids are a promising and widely used technique in gas chromatography, yet they remain poorly studied. Unfortunately, testing of “new” stationary phases is often carried out on a limited set of test compounds (about 10 compounds) of relatively simple structures. This study represents the first investigation into the physicochemical patterns of retention of substituted (including polysubstituted) aromatic alcohols on two stationary phases of different polarities: one based on pyridinium-based ionic liquids and the other on a standard polar phase. The retention order of the studied compounds on such stationary phases compared to the standard polar phase, polyethylene glycol (SH-Stabilwax), was compared and studied. It was shown that pyridinium-based ionic liquids stationary phase has a different selectivity compared to the SH-Stabilwax. Using a quantitative structure–retention relationships (QSRR) study, the differences in selectivity of the two stationary phases were interpreted. Using CHERESHNYA software, the importance of descriptors on different stationary phases was evaluated for the same data set. Different selectivity of the stationary phases correlates with different contributions of descriptors for the analytes under study. For the first time, we show that in-column dehydration is observed for some compounds (mostly substituted benzyl alcohols). This effect is worthy of further investigation and requires attention when analyzing complex mixtures. It suggests that when testing “new” stationary phases, it is necessary to conduct tests on a large set of different classes of compounds. This is because, in the case of using ionic liquids as an stationary phase, a reaction between the analyte and the stationary phase is possible.