Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Analytical Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: goanna_s on November 23, 2005, 01:05:55 AM
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Can someone tell me why, when analysing a mixture of water and ethanol, the water peak comes out first?
I thought that less polar, more volatile compunds would elute first....
Anna
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If its a standard non-polar column then water doesnt interact with the solid phase very well, ethanol can interact and is chromatographed slower. If you had a MS-detector you would see traces of water during the entire run and ruins some of the resolution, a polar column would be a better choice.