1. Chromatography & Rf Values Noadswood Science, 2012

2. Chromatography & Rf Values Tuesday, September 15, 2015 To understand chromatography, how it works, and how it can be used for analytical scientists

3. Chromatography Chromatography is a way to separate dissolved substances which have different colours, such as ink and plant dyes It works because some substances dissolve in the liquid better than the others The better a substance dissolves, the higher up the filter paper it travels

4. Chromatography Chromatography can be used to detect forgeries as most inks are made of a mixture of dyes (a forged document will probably use different ink) Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is very similar to paper chromatography, but it uses thin layers of gel on a glass plate (it is faster than paper and gives a better separation)

5. Chromatography Look at the chromatography results: - bluepurpleredbluepurplered solvent start line in pencil chromatography paper completed chromatogram chromatography apparatus at start Why is the start line drawn in pencil and why is the ink drawn well above the solvent level? In which direction did the molecule move? Where would the red dot appear on our chromatogram?

6. Chromatography Look at the chromatography results: - bluepurpleredbluepurplered solvent start line in pencil chromatography paper completed chromatogram chromatography apparatus at start  The start line is drawn in pencil so more colour spots are not added and the ink is drawn well above the solvent level to stop it dissolving in the solvent  The molecules moved upwards

7. Dr. Green Dr. Green has been killed. The murderer tried to cover their tracks, by forging a suicide note. The only evidence we have is the ink that the killer used to write the note! You are a forensic scientist - your job is to identify which of the pens, taken from the four main suspects was used to write this note Complete the worksheet, and find out who the killer was

8. Chromatography  Chromatography can be used to separate mixtures of coloured compounds – mixtures that are suitable for separation by chromatography include inks, dyes and colouring agents in food…  Simple chromatography is carried out on paper – a spot of the mixture is placed near the bottom of a piece of chromatography paper and the paper is then placed upright in a suitable solvent  As the solvent soaks up the paper, it carries the mixtures with it (different components of the mixture will move at different rates, separating the mixture out)

9. Rf Values (Higher)  Different chromatograms and the separated components of the mixtures can be identified by calculating the Rf value Rf = distance moved by the compound ÷ distance moved by the solvent  The Rf value of a particular compound is always the same – if the chromatography has been carried out in the same way  This allows industry to use chromatography to identify compounds in mixtures (precisely)