Title

Gas Chromatography

Objective

1. To conclude the relation between tR and the number of atomic carbon in homolog
series
2. To explain Van Deemter equation
3. To describe the effect of flow rate on the efficiency column
4. To conduct quantitative determination by using gas chromatography

Introduction

Gas chromatography specifically gas-liquid chromatography involves a sample being

vaporized and was injected into the head of the chromatographic column. The sample is then
transported by a gaseous and inert mobile phase through a column. The column contains a
liquid stationary phase which was absorbed into the surface of the solid. In gas
chromatography, the high-boiling liquid is the stationary phase and the inert gas is the mobile
phase.

As what we have learnt in organic chemistry, gas chromatography is used as an

analytical tool to find out how many components that are present in the mixture. It can also
be used as a separator to separate small amounts of material. In gas chromatography, the
mobile phase or moving phase is a carrier gas usually inert gas such as helium or nitrogen.

The stationary phase is a microscopic layer of liquid or polymer on an inert solid

support, inside a piece of glass or metal tubing called a column. The gas chromatography
used an instrument called gas chromatograph. The gaseous compounds that have being
analysed interact with the wall of the column. The wall of the column is coated with different
stationary phases. This caused each of the compound to elute at different time or retention
time of the compound.

Comparing the retention time is what that gives the gas chromatography its analytical
usefulness. Gas chromatography is in principle similar to column chromatography but has
several distinguished difference. First is the process of separating the compounds in the
sample is carried out between a gas moving phase and a liquid moving phase. In this phase,
the stationary phase is in solid and the gas moving phase is in liquid. Second is the column
through which the gas phase passes is located in an oven where the temperature of the gas
can be controlled. The column chromatography has no such temperature control. Third is the
compounds concentration in the gas phase is solely a solely a function of the vapor pressure
of the gas.

Gas chromatography and fractional distillation is similar since both processes

separates the component in the sample based on their difference in term of boiling point or
vapor pressure. But the frictional distillation primarily used to separate components of
mixture on a large scale in which the gas chromatography can be used in much smaller scale.
Gas chromatography is also known as vapor-phase chromatography or gas-liquid partition
chromatography. An inert gas was used which is helium and the flowrate of the gas influences
on the velocity of the compound would travel through the column. It is said that the faster the
flow rate, the lower the retention time. The flowrate usually held constant throughout a run.

Figure 1 Basic principle of gas chromatography

The gas chromatography can be divided into detector, gas, column and temperature.
The detector can be divided based in its functioning on the type of sample. The detector
combined all the compound in the peak form. Capillary column is different based on the
polarity of the used sample. The longer the size of column, the better the separation. It is also
known that the polarity of the sample affects the time taken for separation. The column can
also be divided into three that is polar, semi polar and non-polar.