Digression on the Central Role of Silicon-Oxygen Compounds in Chromatography

5 DIGRESSION ON THE CENTRAL ROLE OF SILICON-OXYGEN COMPOUNDS IN CHROMATOGRAPHY 

Elemental silicon is central to the vast industry of solid-state electronics. Appropriately doped with other elements, it forms a variety of semiconductors that constitute most transistors and integrated circuits. Other elements and compounds such as germanium or gallium arsenide have also found a niche as semicondnctors in electronics, but silicon occupies the prime position. How fortunate that it is the second most abundant element in the Earth s crust. Its compounds with the most abundant crustal element, oxygen, are equally central in many different aspects of chromatography. Silica, silica gel, glass, qnartz, fused silica, and silicones all have a remarkable variety of key roles to play in chromatography. Let us familiarize ourselves with some of their relevant properties. 

Einally, chains of alternating silicon and oxygen form the backbone of a class of polymers called silicones, whose temperature stability and variable polarity make them the workhorse of GC stationary phases. Their general structure is 

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