Rapid determination of thermodynamic parameters from one-dimensional programmed-temperature gas chromatography for use in retention time prediction in comprehensive multidimensional chromatography

•Thermodynamic parameters for 20 compounds determined in 2 h.•Accurate retention time predictions using thermodynamic model.•Predictions in both GC and GC × GC modes.

A new method for estimating the thermodynamic parameters of ΔH(T0), ΔS(T0), and ΔCP for use in thermodynamic modeling of GC×GC separations has been developed. The method is an alternative to the traditional isothermal separations required to fit a three-parameter thermodynamic model to retention data. Herein, a non-linear optimization technique is used to estimate the parameters from a series of temperature-programmed separations using the Nelder–Mead simplex algorithm. With this method, the time required to obtain estimates of thermodynamic parameters a series of analytes is significantly reduced. This new method allows for precise predictions of retention time with the average error being only 0.2 s for 1D separations. Predictions for GC × GC separations were also in agreement with experimental measurements; having an average relative error of 0.37% for 1tr and 2.1% for 2tr.