| Abstract: | A comparative study of chromatographic properties of different supercritical eluents has been performed by considering the retention at equal density or at equal free volume for different mobile phases. At equal density, the temperature dependence of the capacity ratios of aromatic hydrocarbons is the same for different alkane mobile phases, whereas significant deviations are observed when carbon dioxide is employed as the mobile phase. At equal free volume, a comparison of the capacity ratios measured in carbon dioxide and in alkane eluents showed a pronounced similarity for the different mobile phases when the free volume was low, i.e., at high densities. With increasing free volume, the chemical differences of the alkanes on the one hand and carbon dioxide on the other become more apparent in their elution behavior. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the free volume can also be used as a reference basis for the data of solvatochromic shift experiments. |
