Quantitative Solvent Polarity Parameter

[ZeroAir]

Simple question for you guys: is there a quantitative parameter that is used to describe the polarity of a solvent in the context of HPLC? I was thinking that a simple dipole moment calculation would do the job, but for HPLC it must be more complex. For HPLC the miscibility of solvents is also relevant, and the magnitude of a dipole moment does not reflect this molecular characteristic.

Is there a parameter that takes both these qualities into account? I am not asking for an explanation, a one sentence answer will suffice as I can do the digging

Thanks,

Luke

[krickos]

Hi

Eluent strenght (based on solubility on silica gel) is one that comes to mind, but there might be others.

[HW Mueller]

Some vendors of HPLC solvents have lists with various parameters.

[tom jupille]

Roughly speaking (and grossly oversimplifying!), the sum of hydrogen-bonding acidity, hydrogen-bonding basicity, and dipole moment correlate well with what we intuitively think of as "polarity". If you can get hold of a copy of Snyder, Kirkland, and Dolan's "Introduction to Modern Liquid Chromatography" (here's a link to it on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/bltfok8 ) look around page 33-34 for a more detailed discussion.

[ZeroAir]

Thanks for the tips!!!

Luke