Host-guest chromatographic behaviour of ketones in micellar paper chromatographic separation

Abstract

Separation of 14 ketone compounds by paper chromatography using pure water micellar solution of hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and/or sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) as the mobile phase has been reported. Based on the calculated molecular structural factors (e.g. length, width and height, etc.) and the cavities of micelles, the ketones can be divided into three molecular groups. Each group has its own characteristics and all the groups show the suitability between the solute molecules (guest) and micelles (host). The suitability is the main driving force of chromatographic migration and reveals the relationship between solutes' molecular structures and the cavities of surfactants. Furthermore, the suitability can be directly used to explore molecular structure such as sizes and geometry.