Home Eco-favourable Mobile Phase in Thin Layer Chromatographic Analysis of Surfactants: Resolution of Coexisting Alkyl Dimethylbenzyl Ammonium Chloride, Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Bromide and Triton X 100
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Eco-favourable Mobile Phase in Thin Layer Chromatographic Analysis of Surfactants: Resolution of Coexisting Alkyl Dimethylbenzyl Ammonium Chloride, Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Bromide and Triton X 100

  • Ali Mohammad and Rizwana Mobin
Published/Copyright: September 15, 2015
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill
Author Information
Tenside Surfactants Detergents
From the journal Tenside Surfactants Detergents Volume 52 Issue 5

Abstract

A thin-layer chromatographic system comprising of silica gel as stationary phase and a mixture of methanol, 0.1 % aqueous sodium thiocyanate, acetone and ethyl acetate in 7 : 3 : 2 : 3 ratio as eco-favourable mobile phase has been found most efficient for the separation of ternary mixture of surfactants (alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride (ADBAC) + cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) + Triton X 100). The separation pattern has been presented as densitogram. Chromatographic parameters like ΔRF, separation factor (α) and resolution (RS) for the separation have been calculated. The effect of the presence of foreign substances such as metal cations, metal anions, amino acids and vitamins as impurities on the separation has been examined. The mobility trend of the separated surfactants was also examined by replacing methanol with other alcohols. The detection limits for ADBAC, CTAB and Triton X 100 have been determined. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the identification of ADBAC in the household cleaning product “Lizol”.

Kurzfassung

Für die Trennung ternärer Tensid-Mischungen (Alkyldimethylbenzylammoniumchlorid (ADBAC) + Cetyltrimethylammoniumbromid (CTAB) + Triton X 100) wurde ein sehr effizientes dünnschichtchromatographisches System bestehend aus Kieselsäuregel als stationäre Phase und der Mischung aus Methanol, wässriger Natriumthio-cyanat-lösung (0.1 %), Aceton und Ethylacetat im Verhältnis 7 : 3 : 2 : 3 als umweltfreundliche mobile Phase gefunden. Das Trennungsbild wurde als Densitogramm aufgezeichnet. Die chromatographischen Größen wie ΔRF, der Trennungsfaktor (α) und die Auflösung der Trennung (RS) wurden berechnet. Der Einfluss anwesender Fremdsubstanzen wie Metallkationen, Metallanionen, Aminosäuren und Vitamine auf die Trennung wurde untersucht. Der Mobilitätsverlauf der getrennten Tenside wurde bestimmt, indem das Methanol gegen andere Alkohole ersetzt wurde. Die Detektionsgrenzen für ADBAC, CTAB Triton X 100 wurden bestimmt. Das Verfahren wurde erfolgreich zur Identifikation von ADBAC in dem Haushaltsreiniger „Lizol“ eingesetzt.

Key words: Surfactants; thin-layer chromatography; separation; densitogram; Lizol
Stichwörter: Dünnschichtchromatographie; Trennung; Densitogramm; Lizol
*Correspondence address, Dr. Ali Mohammad, Ms. Rizwana Mobin, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002, Tel.: +91-5 71-2 70 09 20, Extn. −30 02, +91-98 97 78 54 25 (Cell), E-Mail: ,

Dr. Ali Mohammad is presently working as the UGC-BSR Faculty Fellow in the Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India after serving as professor and Chairman in the same department accumulating about 35 years teaching and research experience. Dr. Mohammad obtained his M. Sc. (1972), M.Phil. (1975), Ph. D. (1978) and D.Sc. (1996) degrees from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. After completion of Ph. D. degree, Dr. Ali joined the Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh as lecturer, later on became reader (associate professor) in 1990 and promoted to the post of Professor in 1998. His scientific interests include physicoanalytical aspects of solid state reactions, micellar thin layer chromatography, surfactants analysis and green chromatography. He has supervised 55 students for Ph. D./M.Phil./M.Tech. degrees. He is an author or a coauthor of over 235 scientific papers and book chapters in the area of chromatography. A book in two volumes on Green Solvents (Edited with Dr. Inamuddin) has been published in 2012 by Springer publisher. Dr. Mohammad has served as editor of Journal, Chemical and Environmental Research published from India since 1992 till 2010. He has also served as the Associate Editor for Analytical Chemistry section of Journal of Indian Chemical Society and presently on the editorial boards of Acta Chromatographica, Acta Universitatis Cibiniensis Seria F. Chemia and Annals of Agrarian Science. Recently he has been nominated as Visiting Professor to King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Prof. Mohammad has attended several national and international conferences, delivered lectures and chaired sessions. He is the member of many scientific bodies, Ph. D. thesis adjudicator in various universities and reviewer of several foreign and Indian journals.

Rizwana Mobin is a research scholar at Department of Applied Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, working currently on Ph. D. entitled “Studies on thin layer chromatographic analysis of surfactants”. She has completed her Graduation and -Masters in Industrial Chemistry from A.M.U., Aligarh. She has been gold medalist in Masters (2011). She can be mailed at .

References

1. Schramm, L. L., Stasiuk, E. N. and Marangoni, G.: Surfactants and their applications, Annu. Rep. Prog. Chem. Sect C99 (2003) 3–48. 10.1039/b208499fSearch in Google Scholar

2. Rosen, M. J.: Surfactants and interfacial phenomena, 3rd edn.Wiely, NewYork (2004). 10.1002/0471670561Search in Google Scholar

3. Mohammad, A. and Bhawani, S. A.: LC separation of co-existing cetylpyridinium chloride, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide and dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide on silica TLC plates with aqueous-organic eluents, Chromatographia67 (2008) 659–663. 10.1365/s10337-008-0552-3Search in Google Scholar

4. Kralova, I. and Sjoblom, J.: Surfactants used in food industry: A Review, J. Disper. Sci. Technol.30 (2009) 1363–1383. 10.1080/01932690902735561Search in Google Scholar

5. Haldar, J., Kondaiah, P. and Bhattacharya, S.: Synthesis and antibacterial properties of novel hydrolyzable cationic amphiphiles. Incorporation of multiple head groups Leads to impressive antibacterial activity, J. Med. Chem.48 (2005) 3823–3831. 10.1021/jm049106lSearch in Google Scholar PubMed

6. Moon, S. Y., Kusunose, T. and Sekino, T.: CTAB-assisted synthesis of size- and shape-controlled gold nanoparticles in SDS aqueous solution, Mater. Lett.63 (2009) 2038–2040. 10.1016/j.matlet.2009.06.047Search in Google Scholar

7. Rogers, S. O. and Bendich, A. J.: Extraction of total cellular DNA from plants, algae and fungi, Plant molecular biology manual (1994) 183–190. 10.1007/978-94-011-0511-8_12Search in Google Scholar

8. Fazlara, A. and Ekhtelat, M.: The disinfectant effects of benzalkonium chloride on some important foodborne pathogens, American-Eurasian J. Agric. & Environ. Sci.12 (2012) 23–29; ISSN: 1818-6769.Search in Google Scholar

9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzalkonium_chloride.Search in Google Scholar

10. Zoller, U.: Handbook of detergents Part E: Application, CRC press Taylor and Francis group (2008); ISBN-13: 978-1574447576.10.1201/9781420018165Search in Google Scholar

11. Morin, C. J., Geulin, L., Mofaddel, N., Desbene, A. M. and Desbene, P. L.: Analysis of neutral surfactants by non-aqueous medium capillary electrophoresis hyphenated to mass spectrometry (ion trap), J. Chromatogr. A1198–1199 (2008) 226–231. 10.1016/j.chroma.2008.05.039Search in Google Scholar PubMed

12. Kharitonova, T., Rudnev, A. and Ivanova, N.: Capillary zone electrophoresis for surfactants analysis in aqueous media, Prog. Coll. Poly. Sci.125 (2004) 184–188. 10.1007/b14298Search in Google Scholar

13. Grob, M. and Steiner, F.: Application of nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis to the simultaneous analysis of anionic surfactants, Electrophoresis23 (2002) 1921–1927. ELPS1921>3.0.CO;2-P. 10.1002/1522-2683(200206)23:12<1921::AIDSearch in Google Scholar

14. Schmitt, T. M.: Analysis of surfactants second edition, Surfactants science series 96 (2001); ISBN-13: 978-0824704490.Search in Google Scholar

15. Cullum, D. C.: Introduction to surfactant analysis (1994). 10.1007/978-94-011-1316-8Search in Google Scholar

16. Wulf, V., Wienand, N., Wirtz, M., Kling, H. S., Gäb, S. and Schmitz, O. J.: Analysis of special surfactants by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry, J. Chromatogr.1217 (2010) 749–754. 10.1016/j.chroma.2009.11.093Search in Google Scholar

17. Ahel, M. and Giger, W.: Determination of nonionic surfactants of the alkylphenol polyethoxylate type by high-performance liquid chromatography, Anal. Chem.57 (1985) 2584–2590. 10.1021/ac00290a035Search in Google Scholar

18. Norberg, J., Thordarson, E., Mathiasson, L. and Jonsson, J. A.: Microporous membrane liquid–liquid extraction coupled on-line with normal-phase liquid chromatography for the determination of cationic surfactants in river and waste water, J. Chromatogr. A869 (2000) 523–529. 10.1016/S0021-9673(99)01219-4Search in Google Scholar

19. Jandera, P., Holcapek, M. and Theodoridis, G.: Investigation of chromatographic behaviour of ethoxylated alcohol surfactants in normal-phase and reversed-phase systems using high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, J. Chromatogr. A813 (1998) 299–311. 10.1016/S0021-9673(98)00359-8Search in Google Scholar

20. Mohammad, A. and Bhawani, S. A.: Silica thinl-layer chromatographic studies of surfactants with mixed aqueous-organic eluents containing thiourea: simultaneous separation of co-existing cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, and polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate, J. Chromatogr Sci.46 (2008) 298–303. 10.1093/chromsci/46.4.298Search in Google Scholar

21. Bhawani, S. A., Sulaiman, O., Hashim, R. and Ibrahim, M. N. M.: Analysis of surfactants by thin -layer chromatography: A review, Tenside Surfact. Det.47 (2010) 73–80. 10.3139/113.110054Search in Google Scholar

22. Ymamoto, K. and Motomizu, S.: Spectrophotometric method for the determination of ionic surfactants by flow-injection analysis with acidic dyes, Anal. Chim. Acta246 (1991) 333–339. 10.1016/S0003-2670(00)80969-1Search in Google Scholar

23. Patel, R. and Patel, K. S.: Simple and specific method for flow injection analysis determination of cationic surfactants in environmental and commodity samples, Talanta48 (1999) 923–931. 10.1016/S0039-9140(98)00306-3Search in Google Scholar

24. Barco, M., Planas, C., Palacios, O., Ventura, F., Rivera, J. and Caixach, J.: -Simultaneous quantitative analysis of anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants in water by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry with flow injection analysis, Anal. Chem.75 (2003) 5129–5136. 10.1021/ac020708rSearch in Google Scholar

25. Schroder, H. F.: Tracing of surfactants in the biological wastewater treatment process and the identification of their metabolites by flow injection-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry, J. Chromatogr. A926 (2001) 127–150. 10.1016/S0021-9673(01)00941-4Search in Google Scholar

26. Petrovic, M. and Barcelo, M.: Analysis of ethoxylated nonionic surfactants and their metabolites by liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry, J. Mass Spectrom.36 (2001) 1173–1185. 10.1002/jms.234Search in Google Scholar

27. Castillo, M., Ventura, F. and Barceló, D.: Sequential solid phase extraction protocol followed by liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry for the trace determination of non ionic polyethoxylated surfactants in tannery wastewaters, Waste Manage.19 (1999) 101–110. 10.1016/S0956-053X(99)00004-5Search in Google Scholar

28. Nitschke, L., Muller, R., Metzner, G. and Huber, L.: Trace analysis of cationic surfactants in water using HPLC with conductometric detection, Fresenius J. Anal. Chem.342 (1992) 711–713. 10.1007/BF00321861Search in Google Scholar

29. Cirin, D. M., Posa, M. M., Krstonosic, V. S. and Milanovic, M. L.: Conductometric study of sodium dodecyl sulfate–nonionic surfactant (Triton X-100, Tween 20, Tween 60, Tween 80 or Tween 85) mixed micelles in aqueous solution, Hem. Ind.66 (2012) 21–28. 10.2298/HEMIND110612059CSearch in Google Scholar

30. Jurado, E., Serrano, M. F., Olea, J. N., Luzo'n, G. and Lechuga, M.: Simplified spectrophotometric method using methylene blue for determining anionic surfactants: Applications to the study of primary biodegradation in aerobic screening tests, Chemosphere65 (2006) 278–285. 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.02.044Search in Google Scholar

31. Shimoishi, Y. and Miyata, H.: Spectrophotometric determination of anionic surfactants in tap and river waters with 1-(10-bromodecyl)-4-(4-aminonaphthylazo)-pyridinium bromide, Fresen. J. Anal. Chem. Indian338 (1990) 46–49. 10.1007/BF00322783Search in Google Scholar

32. Ćosović, B. and Vojvodić, V.: Voltammetric Analysis of Surface Active Substances in Natural Seawater, Electroanal.10 (1998) 429–434. 10.1002/(SICI)1521-4109(199805)10:6<429::AIDELAN429>3.0.CO;2-7Search in Google Scholar

33. Gerlache, M., Kauffmann, J. M., Quarin, G., Vire, J. C., Bryant, G. A. and Talbot, J. M.: Electrochemical analysis of surfactants: An overview, Talanta43 (1996) 507–519. 10.1016/0039-9140(95)01787-9Search in Google Scholar

34. Desbene, P. L., Desmazieres, B. and Basselier, J. J.: Polarographic detection of non-ionic surfactants analyzed by reversed-phase partition chromatography, J. Chromatogr. A465 (1989) 69–74. 10.1016/S0021-9673(01)83573-1Search in Google Scholar

35. Gartshore, J., Lim, Y. C. and Cooper, D. G.: Quantitative analysis of biosurfactants using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Biotechnol Lett.22 (2000) 169–172. 10.1023/A:1005670031432Search in Google Scholar

36. Coveney, F. M., Strange, J. H. and Smith, E. G.: The measurement of electrophoretic mobility in surfactant systems using NMR, Molecular Physics75 (1992) 127–137. 10.1080/00268979200100101Search in Google Scholar

37. Corno, C., Platone, E. and Ghelli, S.: 13C NMR analysis of polyoxyethylenated surfactants – determination of critical micellar concentration, Colloid Polym. Sci.262 (1984) 667–669. 10.1007/BF01452460Search in Google Scholar

38. Tesic, Z. and Opsenica, D. M.: Inorganic ion exchangers in paper and thin-layer chromatographic separations, in: Inamuddin, and Luqman, M. (Ed.) chapter 15, Ion Exchange Technology II: Application, SpringerNetherlands (2012) 365–389. 10.1007/978-94-007-4026-6_15Search in Google Scholar

39. Dhote, S. S., Deshmukh, L. and Paliwal, L.: Heavy metal ion separationon thin layer of impregnated carbamide-formaldehyde polymer, J. Chromat. Separation Techniq.3 (2012) 124. 10.4172/2157-7064.1000124Search in Google Scholar

40. Cserhati, T. and Somogyi, A.: Thin-layer chromatographic separation of some tributylphenyl ethylene oxide oligomers according to the length of the ethylene oxide chain, J. Chromatogr. A446 (1998) 17–22. 10.1016/S0021-9673(00)94413-3Search in Google Scholar

41. Cross, J.: Anionic surfactants: Analytical chemistry. Surfactants Science Series 73 (1998); ISBN: 0-8247-0166-6.Search in Google Scholar

42. Mohammad, A., Siddiq, A., Moheman, A. and El-Desoky, G. E.: Aqueous urea solution promoted resolution of five-component mixture of amino acids on silica TLC plates, J. Planar. Chromatrg. – Mod. TLC26 (2013) 31–36. 10.1556/JPC.26.2013.1.5Search in Google Scholar

43. Mohammad, A., Haq, N. and Siddiq, A.: Resolution of multicomponent mixture of amino acids using environmentally benign eluents: A green chromatographic approach, J. Sep. Sci.33 (2010) 3619–3626. 10.1002/jssc.201000543Search in Google Scholar PubMed

44. Siddiq, A., Ansari, M. O., Mohammad, A., Mohammad, F. and El-Desoky, G. E.: Synergistic effect of polyaniline modified silica gel for highly efficient separation of non resolvable amino acids, Int. J. Polym. Mater. Polym. Biomater63 (2013) 277–281. 10.1080/00914037.2013.830255Search in Google Scholar

45. Neuman, R. C.: Addition and substitution reactions of carbonyl compounds. Organic Chemistry, Chapter 16, 1992. (9-11/94)(2,3/97)(12/05)(1-6/06)Search in Google Scholar

Received: 2014-07-11
Accepted: 2014-10-29
Published Online: 2015-09-15
Published in Print: 2015-09-15

© 2015, Carl Hanser Publisher, Munich

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Contents/Inhalt
  2. Contents
  3. Review Article
  4. How to Improve Sustainability and Environmentally Friendly Behaviour in Automatic Dishwashing? Example: Germany
  5. Physical Chemistry
  6. αs-Casein-PE6400 Mixtures: Thermodynamics of Micelle Formation
  7. Effect of Alcohols on Phase Stability of Ionic Liquid Microemulsions
  8. The Effect on Solution Properties of Replacing a Hydrogen Atom with a Methyl Group in a Surfactant
  9. Application
  10. New Approach of Sucrose Myristate as a Promising Penetration Enhancer in Dermal Preparations
  11. Environmental Chemistry
  12. Identification of Non-ionic Surfactants in Elements of the Aquatic Environment
  13. Synthesis
  14. Synthesis and Properties of 1,2,3,4-Butanetetracarboxylic Acid Type Gemini Surfactants with Semifluoroalkyl Chain as Hydrophobic Group
  15. Solvent Free Synthesis of Four Cationic Surfactants: Evaluation of Their Corrosion Inhibition Properties on Zinc Phosphate Conversion Coating on Mild Steel
  16. Synthesis and Spectrophotometric Study of Toxic Metals Extraction by Novel Thio-Based Non-Ionic Surfactant
  17. Analysis
  18. Eco-favourable Mobile Phase in Thin Layer Chromatographic Analysis of Surfactants: Resolution of Coexisting Alkyl Dimethylbenzyl Ammonium Chloride, Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Bromide and Triton X 100
https://doi.org/10.3139/113.110393
Keywords for this article
Surfactants; thin-layer chromatography; separation; densitogram; Lizol

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Contents/Inhalt
  2. Contents
  3. Review Article
  4. How to Improve Sustainability and Environmentally Friendly Behaviour in Automatic Dishwashing? Example: Germany
  5. Physical Chemistry
  6. αs-Casein-PE6400 Mixtures: Thermodynamics of Micelle Formation
  7. Effect of Alcohols on Phase Stability of Ionic Liquid Microemulsions
  8. The Effect on Solution Properties of Replacing a Hydrogen Atom with a Methyl Group in a Surfactant
  9. Application
  10. New Approach of Sucrose Myristate as a Promising Penetration Enhancer in Dermal Preparations
  11. Environmental Chemistry
  12. Identification of Non-ionic Surfactants in Elements of the Aquatic Environment
  13. Synthesis
  14. Synthesis and Properties of 1,2,3,4-Butanetetracarboxylic Acid Type Gemini Surfactants with Semifluoroalkyl Chain as Hydrophobic Group
  15. Solvent Free Synthesis of Four Cationic Surfactants: Evaluation of Their Corrosion Inhibition Properties on Zinc Phosphate Conversion Coating on Mild Steel
  16. Synthesis and Spectrophotometric Study of Toxic Metals Extraction by Novel Thio-Based Non-Ionic Surfactant
  17. Analysis
  18. Eco-favourable Mobile Phase in Thin Layer Chromatographic Analysis of Surfactants: Resolution of Coexisting Alkyl Dimethylbenzyl Ammonium Chloride, Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Bromide and Triton X 100
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 9.10.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.3139/113.110393/html
Scroll to top button