Retention and selectivity of aromatic hydrocarbons with mono-substituted polar groups in ternary RP-HPLC systems

Summary The variation in selectivity for aromatic hydrocarbons with mono-substituted polar groups is investigated in ternary mobile-phase systems on C₁₈ stationary phases. The dependence of log k′ on the proportions of two modifiers was determined for the solutes within the concentration range of ternary systems obtained by mixing two binary eluents: methanol + water and tetrahydrofuran + water or acetonitrile + water and tetrahydrofuran + water. The nature of the relationships is explained in terms of molecular shape, molecular interactions between solute and extracted modifier and the ordering of solvated ligands on the stationary phase.