Multi-walled carbon nanotubes as the gas chromatographic stationary phase:Role of their functionalization in the analysis of aliphatic alcohols and esters

Presented hereafter is the novel application of differently functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes
(f-MWCNTs) as stationary phases for the GC separation of C1–C5 alcohols and esters. Low-cost packed
columns, easily prepared in laboratory, were used with satisfactory results. Depending on the functional
groups introduced on the pristine MWCNTs, remarkably different behaviours have been observed, thus
indicating that derivatization is a key factor to achieve optimal resolution. The best performance was
shown by the 2,2-(ethylenedioxy)diethylamine derivatized MWCNTs, allowing the separation of alcohol
isomers, for this reason chosen for the investigation of fermentation by-products in distilled spirits. The
degree of derivatization has been assessed for each packing material by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).
Acomputational study has been performed to correlate the physico–chemical properties of alcohol probes
with the retention behaviour.