Liquid chromatographic retention of homologous alkanes in the two states of C18-bonded reversed phase silicas

Summary LiChrosorb Si100 densely grafted with octadecylmonofunctional reagents and the similar commerical LiChrosorb RP 18 have been studied in RP-HPLC, with water-methanol mobile phases at different temperatures. They exhibit a phase transition revealing two different states of bonded film as we have previously shown on densely grafted C18 or C22 macroporous silicas.The measurement of the capacity factors of the alkane homologous series indicated a discontinuity in the plot (logK, N) at a critical number whose value is dependent on temperature. Two different forms of these curves can be observed above and below the transition, revealing the influence of bonded film state on the retention mechanism.