Saturday, May 2, 2020

Factors affecting separation in paper chromatography

Paper chromatography is a method of planar chromatography that uses specialized cellulose paper used as a stationary phase to operate chromatographic procedures. Paper chromatography is working similar to thin-layer chromatography (TLC), it is easy and most commonly used technique due to its applicability for the separation, detection, and quantitative determination of organic and inorganic molecules. The separation of analytes in each type of chromatographic technique is significant to qualitative and quantitative estimation, but the many factors can affect the separation process in paper chromatography.
Some factors are mentioned here that affect the separation in paper chromatography.
Mobile phase saturation: Rf values in paper chromatography and TLC mainly dependent on the mobile phase saturation of the atmosphere in the chamber.
Effect of temperature: The variation of temperature between processes can affect the separation of components.
Composition of the mobile phase: The appropriate combination of solvents are required to separate the analytes, this can mainly affect the separation
Quality of paper used: The paper needs to better adsorb and retained the compounds, as the quality of the paper also affects the separation.
Quality of solvent used: High-quality solvents need to be used each time because low-quality solvents affect the separation
Sample concentration: A highly concentrated and highly diluted sample cannot separate appropriately.

Commonly asked questions on paper chromatography are as follows.
What are the major applications of paper chromatography?
Paper chromatography is mainly used in analytical chemistry to identify and separate color mixtures and it is also used as a qualitative method.

Why are two solvents used in paper chromatography?
Two solvents are used in the mobile phase of paper chromatography because it helps separate complex mixtures of molecules having similar polarity.

Why is water used as a solvent in chromatography?
Water is a cost-effective, readily available, act as a polar solvent and is more efficient when used with a non-polar stationary phase.




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