title: Sputtered alumina as a novel stationary phase for micro machined gas chromatography columns.
abstract: Silica and graphite sputtering have previously been reported as novel solid stationary phase deposition techniques for micro gas chromatography columns. As a conventional solid stationary phase in gas chromatography, compatible with sputtering yet so far unreported, alumina was evaluated in this study. Alumina sputtered semi-packed micro columns were fabricated (including an activation step) and proved able to separate a mixture of volatile alkanes (C1-C4 with isomers) in less than 1 min. Kinetic and a thermodynamic evaluation led to calculation of 4,500 theoretical plates for ethane in 1.1 m (HETPmin = 250 μm) and a Gibbs free energy for propane of 30.2 kJ mol(-1), making this stationary phase's properties very close to those observed with silica-sputtered micro columns.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Sciences Analytiques, Bioanalytiques et Miniaturisation, ESPCI Paristech, CNRS UMR PECSA, 7195, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005, Paris, France, raphael.haudebourg@espci.fr.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Haudebourg
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Matouk
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zoghlami
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Azzouz
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Danaie
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sassiat
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thiebaut
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vial