1. Separating plant pigments
Chromatography
Separating plant pigments

3. Cellulose Paper (stationary phase)

4. Ethanol Solvent (mobile phase)

5. Chromatography
It is possible to measure the solubility of a pigment in a solvent by measuring how far the pigment travels vs. how far the solvent travels
This is called retention factor, or Rf value
Rf values are characteristic of specific pigments and can be used to identify them
The higher the Rf value, the less polar the compound.
Thus, a compound not migrating from the origin would have an Rf of 0, a compound migrating with the solvent front would have an Rf of 1.0, and a compound migrating half as far as the solvent front would have an Rf of 0.5.

6. Plant Pigments

8. Rf values of pigments Carotene - 0.98; orange
Pheophytin ; olive green
Chlorophyll a ; blue-green
Chlorophyll b ; yellow-green
Anthocyanins - between 0.32 and 0.62; red, pink, purple and blue colors
Xanthophyll , yellow
Xanthophyll , yellow