Basics of chromatography
In IB chemistry curriculum, chromatography is a technique used to separate components in a mixture and identify them by comparing their Rf/retention time value to a database.
Mobile phase – the phase that moves : liquid or gas
Stationary phase – the phase that doesn’t move : solid or liquid
Chromatography works on the basis that different components have different affinities for a stationary and mobile phase. The greater the interaction the component has with the stationary phase the more it is slowed down; the difference in speeds is what creates the separation.
Methods of separation in IB chmeistry:
• Adsorption : solid or liquid stationary phase
• Relative solubility : liquid or gas stationary phase
In IB chemistry, adsorption – the process by which a solid holds molecules of a gas or liquid or solute as a thin film on the surface of a solid or, more rarely, a liquid.
End of this part! Please read part II !
Drafted by Gina (Chemistry)