What type of compounds does gas chromatography primarily separate?

Gas chromatography is a powerful technique primarily used for separating volatile compounds. This is because, in gas chromatography, the sample is vaporized, and only those compounds that can easily transition from the liquid or solid phase into a gas phase are effectively separated and analyzed.

Volatile compounds have relatively low boiling points, which allow them to vaporize under the conditions typically used in gas chromatography. The separation occurs as these vaporized compounds travel through a column containing a stationary phase, which interacts differently with each compound based on their chemical properties, leading to different retention times.

In contrast, non-volatile or solid compounds would not adequately vaporize during the process, preventing them from traveling through the column and being detected. Therefore, gas chromatography is not suitable for separating these types of compounds.