Retention time prediction of compounds in Grob standard mixture for apolar capillary columns in temperature-programmed gas chromatography.

This paper presents an extension of a previous investigation in which the behavior of nonpolar compounds in temperature-programmed gas chromatographic runs was predicted using thermodynamic (entropy and enthalpy) parameters derived from isothermal runs. In a similar manner, entropy and enthalpy parameters were determined for a Grob standard mixture of compounds with widely varying chemical characteristics. These parameters were used to predict the retention times and chromatographic behaviors of the compounds on four gas chromatography capillary columns: three that had phenyl-based stationary phases (with degrees of substitution of 0%, 5% and 50%) and one with (50%) cyanopropyl substitution. The predictions matched data empirically obtained from temperature-programmed chromatographic runs for all of the compounds extremely well, despite the wide variations in polarity of both the compounds and stationary phases. Thus, the results indicate that such simulations could greatly reduce the time and material costs of chromatographic optimizations.