Retention of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on propyl-phenyl stationary phases in reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography

A study on the retention of PAHs on three Propyl-phenyl stationary phases was conducted, assessing absolute retention, selectivity, retention correlation and thermodynamic behaviour. The chromatographic retention data revealed that each of the three Propyl-phenyl columns exhibited differences in absolute retention, however, comparison of the compensation temperatures derived from enthalpy–entropy compensation plots showed that the underlying processes responsible for the retention on these columns were the same.