Modeling the effect of solvation on solute retention in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

The retention of a homologous series of alkylbenzenes was determined on oct yl and octadecyl reversed-phase columns in several polar organic liquids. F ree energies of transfer were calculated by the SM5.0R classical solvation model for each organic liquid tested and for several alkanes. The relations hips between the measured retention factors and the calculated free energie s of transfer were then investigated. Although the natural logarithms of th e retention factor and the calculated free energies of transfer were linear ly correlated, the obtained free energies of transfer of the solutes did no t completely explain the retention behavior of the solutes. Nonetheless, ev en in these pure organic liquids, the energetics of RPLC retention behaved very similarly to those of partitioning. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.