Quantitative in silico analysis of the selectivity of graphitic carbon synthesized by different methods

Molecular interaction energy (MI) values calculated by molecular mechanics (MM2) using a model graphitic carbon phase were used for studying the selectivity of different types of graphitic carbon columns. The MI values well correlated with logk values measured on a graphitic carbon synthesized from 100% organic materials (r=0.961, n=13) but not with logk values measured on a graphitic carbon synthesized using silica matrix (r=0.558, n=17). The latter logk values correlated well with the hydrogen bonding energy values calculated using a model silica phase (r=0.856, n=17). The reason for the poor correlation of the logk values measured on the latter graphitic carbon is that the silica matrix might not be completely eliminated in the production process.