Some days ago, I tried for the first time a chromatography machine. The data I collected are the following:
$$ \begin{array}{lrrr} \hline \text{Compound} & t_\mathrm{R}/\pu{min} & w/\pu{min} & N \\ \hline \text{Benzene} & 2.325 & 0.047 & 39153 \\ \text{Toluene} & 2.712 & 0.067 & 26214 \\ \text{Chlorobenzene} & 3.690 & 0.099 & 22228 \\ \textit{p}\text{-Chlorotoluene} & 4.332 & 0.106 & 26723 \\ \hline \end{array} $$
I know the relationship between retention time $t_\mathrm{R},$ peak width $w$ and theoretical plates $N.$
Known the different properties, boiling points, polarities, or shapes of the molecules involved, is there a way to predict which molecule will yield an higher number of theoretical plates?
Which characteristics of the molecules affect the different number of plates for each molecule?