This Research in Undergraduate Institution (RUI) project is in the general area of analytical and surface chemistry and in the subfield of separations science. The focus of this research is on the development of new chemically bonded stationary phases for chromatography. In general, the research involves new synthetic approaches to bonding organic moieties to silica as well as modification of alumina surfaces. Four major synthetic steps are proposed involving 1) chlorination/Grignard chemistry, 2) silica hydride intermediates, 3) bonded olefin modification and 4) bonded liquid crystal stationary phases. The ultimate goal of the proposed research is to provide a better understanding of bonded phase interactions and to better understand the role of the support surface in chromatographic separations. This research is designed to better understand how molecules are separated using chromatography. New types of schemes are proposed for preparing novel columns for separating chemicals. The ultimate goal of this research is to provide a better theory for these separations which will in turn allow prediction of better separation schemes.
