1. My Experiment Color Chromatography
Presented By
Kelsey Leigh Campbell
Date: 3 October 2012

2. What is Chromatography?
Chromatography is a technique for separating mixtures into their components in order to analyze, identify, purify, and/or quantify the mixture or components.

3. Uses for Chromatography
Chromatography is used by scientists to
Analyze
Identify
Purify
Quantify

4. Uses for Chromatography
Real-life examples of uses for chromatography
Pharmaceutical Company
Hospital
Law Enforcement
Environmental Agency
Manufacturing Plant

5. Chromatography Defined
Detailed Definition: Chromatography is a laboratory technique that separates components within a mixture by using the differential affinities of the components for a mobile medium and for a stationary absorbing medium through which they pass

6. Chromatography Illustration

8. Types of Chromatography
Liquid Chromatography
Gas Chromatography
Paper Chromatography
Thin-Layer Chromatography

9. Principles of Paper Chromatography
Capillary Action – the movement of liquid within the spaces of a porous material due to the forces of adhesion, cohesion, and surface tension.
Solubility – the degree to which a material (solute) dissolves into a solvent.

10. Overview of the Experiment
Purpose To introduce students to the principles and terminology of chromatography and demonstrate separation of the dyes in Sharpies with paper chromatography Time Required Prep Time: 20 minutes Experiment: 45 minutes

11. Materials List 6 strips of paper or filter 6 beakers or jars
All strips must be exactly the same size (e.g., 3 cm × 9 cm)
Different color Sharpies
Volumetric measuring devices
Water
Isopropanol
Pencil
Ruler
Tape

12. Preparation
Prepare 15 ml of the following isopropanol solutions in appropriately labeled beakers:
0%, 20%, 50%, 70%, 100%
Cut 5 strips of filter paper
Draw a line 1 cm above the bottom edge of the strip with the pencil
Label each strip with its corresponding solution (color and concentration)
Place a spot from each marker (or other dye sample) on your starting line

13. Developing the Chromatograms
Place the strips in the beakers
Make sure the solution does not come above your start line
Keep the beakers covered
Let strips develop until the ascending solution front is about 2 cm from the top of the strip
Remove the strips and let them dry

14. Observing the Chromatograms
Observe how some of the dyes are made up of more than one color
Observe how spots of the same color separated in low concentrations of alcohol compared to higher concentrations
Observe when spots of different colors first started separating in the different concentrations

15. 0 %
20 %
50 %
70 %
100 %

16. Black and Blue Separations
Black Dye
Dyes Separated: black and purple
Not soluble in low concentrations of isopropanol
Partially soluble in concentrations >20%
Blue Dye
Dye Separated: blue
Not very soluble in low concentrations
Completely soluble in high concentrations

17. Green and Red Separations
Green Dye
Dyes Separated: Blue and Yellow
Blue: Soluble in concentrations > 20%
Yellow: Soluble in concentrations > 0%
Red Dye
Dyes Separated: Red and Yellow
Yellow: Soluble in low concentrations and less soluble in high concentrations
Red: Slightly soluble in low concentrations and more soluble in concentrations > 20%

18. Alternative Experiments
Test Different Samples
Markers, pens, highlighters
Food pigments (Skittles or M&M’s)
Test Different Solvents
Other alcohols: methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol
Test Different Papers
Coffee Filters
Paper towels
Typing Paper

19. Questions?!

20. References
The idea for this experiment came from
Scientific Uses for Chromatography
Everyday Uses for Chromatography