ABSTRACT
By contrast, most kinetic studies on mass-transfer phenomena in HPLC have been made on the less strong basis of the height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP) and of various plate height equations, such as the van Deemter equation and Knox equation [1,2,4,6]. These equations are empirical. Compared to the thermodynamics equations, they are quite approximate. There are few fundamental studies on the actual mass-transfer phenomena taking place in chromatographic columns, especially on the diffusion phenomena which might be involved in RP packing materials, in contrast to the extensive studies concerning the retention behavior in RPLC. There are still many topics related to the kinetics of the mass-transfer phenomena involved in RPLC which are poorly understood and worthy of careful attention.
