Silica stationary phases are traditionally prepared through silanization, where silanol groups on the silica surface react with organosilanes to create chemically bonded layers, typically with hydrocarbon chains such as C18 or C8 for reversed-phase separations. A research team from the Department of Chemistry at the University at Buffalo introduced an alternative surface modification method that avoids silanization, using diazonium chemistry instead. LCGC International spoke to Luis A. Colón, corresponding author of the paper that resulted from the team's research, about the method.
