what is meant by polar and nonpolar compounds
Chemical polarity Bonds can fall between one of two extremes – being completely nonpolar or completely polar. A completely nonpolar bond occurs when the electronegativities are identical and therefore possess a difference of zero. A completely polar bond is more correctly called an ionic bond, and occurs when the difference between electronegativities is large enough that one atom actually takes an electron from the other. The terms "polar" and "nonpolar" are usually applied to covalent bonds, that is, bonds where the polarity is not complete. To determine the polarity of a covalent bond using numerical means, the difference between the electronegativity of the atoms is used.
Reversed-phase chromatography Reversed-phase chromatography is a technique using alkyl chains covalently bonded to the stationary phase particles in order to create a hydrophobic stationary phase, which has a stronger affinity for hydrophobic or less polar compounds. The use of a hydrophobic stationary phase is essentially the reverse of normal phase chromatography, since the polarity of the mobile and stationary phases have been inverted â€“ hence the term reversed-phase chromatography.[2][3] Reversed-phase chromatography employs a polar (aqueous) mobile phase. As a result, hydrophobic molecules in the polar mobile phase tend to adsorb to the hydrophobic stationary phase, and hydrophilic molecules in the mobile phase will pass through the column and are eluted first.[2][4] Hydrophobic molecules can be eluted from the column by decreasing the polarity of the mobile phase using an organic (non-polar) solvent, which reduces hydrophobic interactions. The more hydrophobic the molecule, the more strongly it will bind to the stationary phase, and the higher the concentration of organic solvent that will be required to elute the molecule.