May 1st 2019Ultrahigh-efficiency separations based on the presence of one deuterium in benzene, toluene, and naphthalene were achieved by recycle chromatography using C18 silica columns. Larger isotopic separation factors, α(H/D), were observed in methanol–water than in acetonitrile–water, when the mobile phases provided similar retention factors (k), or similar methylene selectivity, α(CH2). Isotopic resolutions between nondeuterated and perdeuterated aromatic hydrocarbons at long separation times were estimated by using the plate counts obtainable by recycle operation as a function of a cycle time, along with the retention factors and the separation factors experimentally observed.