Solvophobic theory attempts to explain interactions between polar

solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...

s and non-polar

solutes In chemistry, a solution is a special type of homogeneous mixture composed of two or more substances. In such a mixture, a solute is a substance dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. If the attractive forces between the solvent ...

. In the pure solvent, there are relatively strong cohesive forces between the solvent molecules due to

hydrogen bonding In chemistry, a hydrogen bond (or H-bond) is a primarily electrostatic force of attraction between a hydrogen (H) atom which is covalently bound to a more electronegative "donor" atom or group (Dn), and another electronegative atom bearing a l ...

or other polar interactions. Hence, non-polar solutes tend not to be soluble in polar solvents because these solvent-solvent binding interactions must be overcome first. When applied to

liquid chromatography In chemical analysis, chromatography is a laboratory technique for the separation of a mixture into its components. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid solvent (gas or liquid) called the ''mobile phase'', which carries it through a system (a ...

(LC), solvophobic theory attributes the retention of solutes on the stationary phase partly to the rejection of solute molecules by the solvent, and partly to the attraction of the solute molecules by the stationary phase.Satinder Ahuja, Selectivity and detectability optimizations in HPLC ,

References

Solutions Chromatography Separation processes {{Chromatography-stub