Enter your Compound Retention Time, the bracketing n-Alkane (Cn) and (Cn+1) Retention Times, and your preferred Calculation Method to get the Kovàts Retention Index for any compound on your chosen Stationary Phase — along with the Carbon Equivalent and Retention Factor so you have everything you need to identify and compare GC peaks.
Kovats Retention Index
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Carbon Equivalent
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Retention Factor
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The Kovats retention index is a dimensionless number that characterizes the retention behavior of a compound in gas chromatography relative to n-alkane standards. It provides a standardized way to identify compounds across different GC conditions.
Isothermal Kovats indices use logarithmic retention times for constant temperature conditions, while temperature programmed indices (Van den Dool method) use linear retention times for temperature gradient conditions.
Select n-alkanes that elute immediately before and after your compound of interest. The compound should have a retention time between the two reference n-alkanes for accurate calculation.
Enter retention times in minutes. The calculator works with any time unit as long as all values use the same unit consistently.
Different stationary phases (polar vs non-polar) can significantly affect retention indices. Specifying the phase type helps in comparing results with literature values and databases.
Retention indices typically range from 500-3000 for most organic compounds, with values below 1000 for volatile compounds and higher values for less volatile compounds.
This calculator is specifically designed for Kovats retention indices using n-alkane standards. Lee indices use different reference compounds (benzene, naphthalene, etc.).