Speciation of alkylated dibenzothiophenes through correlation of structure and gas chromatographic retention indexes

The gas chromatographic (GC) speciation of polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycles (PASH) in deeply desulfurized fuels is difficult without recourse to authentic standard compounds. Here we investigate the GC retention indexes for 30 alkylated dibenzothiophenes on two methylphenylsiloxane stationary phases of different selectivity (5% and 50% phenyl groups) with a view to avoid the synthesis of all congeners. The influence of the substitution pattern on the retention indexes is discussed. With the measured data it is possible to carry out a multiple linear regression (MLR) to calculate parameters for predicting the retention indexes of unknown polymethylated isomers based only on their structural features. Nine trimethyldibenzothiophene in a synthesis product are identified through their retention indexes. The retention indexes for a total of 43 alkyldibenzothiophenes are listed.