An open tubular gas chromatography column is 35.7 m long and has an inner diameter of 0.250 mm. It is coated on the inside wall with a layer of stationary phase that is 1.8 µm (0.0018 mm) thick. Unretained solute, methane, passes through in 6.39 min, whereas toluene has a retention time of 16.35 min. Calculate the retention factor for toluene.

The retention factor, k is 2.49

Explanation:

According to the theory of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), the retention factor (or capacity), k, of a column is the ratio of the retention time of a retained analyte (toluene) to that of the  un-retained solute (methane).

This implies that:

k =  =  

 retention factor, k  = 2.49.

Note that there is no unit for retention factor, as it is a ratio.