Solvophobic theory/ solvophobicity attempts to explain interactions between polar

Chemical polarity

In chemistry, polarity refers to a separation of electric charge leading to a molecule or its chemical groups having an electric dipole or multipole moment. Polar molecules interact through dipole–dipole intermolecular forces and hydrogen bonds. Molecular polarity is dependent on the difference in...

 solvent

Solvent

A solvent is a liquid, solid, or gas that dissolves another solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution that is soluble in a certain volume of solvent at a specified temperature...

s and non-polar solute

Solute

Solute may refer to:* Solute, UMIK or UBOOK desolving in a substance,forming INT/INTY* Solute , a group of Paleozoic echinoderms...

s. The molecular structure of the solvent molecule

Molecule

A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...

 is driven by hydrogen bonding between similarly structured solvent molecules but is perturbed by non-polar solute molecules. When applied to liquid chromatography (LC), solvophobic theory attributes the retention of solutes on the stationary phase to the active rejection of solute molecules by the solvent. However, in practice attractive forces between the solvent and the stationary phase play a role in driving the retention of solvents in LC systems.