ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the methodology for ion chromatographic method development, which includes selection of eluent systems and detectors, as well as sample preparation. The use of ion exchangers has been known throughout history. Aristotle reported the desalination of seawater using sands and soils, but the widespread use of synthetic ion exchangers did not come about until scientists discovered the ion-exchange capabilities of crushed gramophone records. A typical starting point for anion counterion analyses would be to consider the type of anion and the capacity of the column. Lower capacity is better for suppressed systems. In ion chromatography, once the ion is retained by the stationary phase, it falls to the eluent to disrupt the interaction of the sample ion and the stationary phase to elute the ion. Some ion chromatographs come with the ability to generate the eluants in situ/inline, whereas other systems require that eluants are prepared as they would be for liquid chromatographic separations, at fixed concentrations.
