Adsorption Chromatography
Adsorption Chromatography
Adsorption Chromatography
Adsorption chromatography is the oldest types of chromatography technique. It makes use of a mobile
phase which is either in liquid or gaseous form. The mobile phase is adsorbed onto the surface of a
stationary solid phase.
Adsorption Chromatography involves the analytical separation of a chemical mixture based on the
interaction of the adsorbate with the adsorbent. The mixture of gas or liquid gets separated when it
passes over the adsorbent bed that adsorbs different compounds at different rates.
Adsorbent – A substance which is generally porous in nature with a high surface area to adsorb
substances on its surface by intermolecular forces is called adsorbent. Some commonly used adsorbents
are Silica gel H, silica gel G, silica gel N, silica gel S, hydrated gel silica, cellulose microcrystalline, alumina,
modified silica gel, etc.
Before starting with the adsorption chromatography Experiment let us understand the two types of
phases and the types of forces involved during the mixture separation process.
Stationary phase – Adsorbent is the stationary phase in adsorption chromatography. The forces involved
help to remove solutes from the adsorbent so that they can move with the mobile phase.
Mobile phase – Either a liquid or a gas is used as a mobile phase in adsorption chromatography. Forces
involved help to remove solutes from the adsorbent so that they can move with the mobile phase. When
a liquid is used as a mobile phase it is called LSC (Liquid-Solid Chromatography). When a gas is used as a
mobile phase it is called GSC (Gas-Solid Chromatography).
Apparatus –
Chromatography jar – The glass jar has a lid. It helps to maintain a proper environment during
separation.
Thin layer chromatography plate – Borosilicate glass plate with size 20*20 cm, 20*5 cm, 20*10.
Capillary tube – Sample mixture is applied to TLC with the help of this tube.
Thin Layer Chromatography – It is a chromatography technique where the mobile phase moves over an
adsorbent. The adsorbent is a thin layer which is applied to a solid support for the separation of
components. The separation takes place through differential migration which occurs when the solvent
moves along the powder spread on the glass plates.
Mobile phase – This phase in TLC can either be a single liquid or mixture of liquids. Some commonly used
liquids are Ethanol, acetone, methanol, chloroform. Stationary phase – Adsorbents
Column chromatography – the technique in which the solutes of a solution are entitled to travel down a
column where the individual components are adsorbed by the stationary phase. Based on the affinity
towards adsorbent the components take positions on the column. The most strongly adsorbed
component is seen at the top of the column.
Gas-Solid chromatography – The principle of separation in GSC is adsorption. It is used for solutes which
have less solubility in the stationary phase. This type of chromatography technique has a very limited
number of stationary phases available and therefore GSC is not used widely.
3. Add mobile phase to the jar. Around 0.5 cm to 1 cm from the bottom of the jar.
10. Allow the system to stand till the solvent moves to some distance from the baseline.