This is a short presentation on the separation technique "paper chromatography": its advantages, disadvantages, the apparatus and what it is really. It includes pictures and a simple explanation.

1. done by d
a
i c
a
use why not—
PaperChromatography
wh
a
t it is, the
a
pp
a
r
a
tus, the
a
dv
a
nt
a
ges & dis
a
dv
a
nt
a
ges

2. WhatisPaperChromatography?
According to chemdiction
a
ry.org, p
a
per chrom
a
togr
a
phy is
a
chrom
a
togr
a
phy technique used to sep
a
r
a
te
mixture of chemic
a
l subst
a
nces into its individu
a
l compounds.
W
a
ys in which p
a
per chrom
a
togr
a
phy is used in re
a
l
life
a
re:
> using w
a
ter colour p
a
int on p
a
per
> detecting pollut
a
nts in w
a
ter
>
a
n
a
lysing compounds in drugs
When pulled
a
long the piece of p
a
per towelling, e
a
ch molecule in
a
(most common: ink) solution, tr
a
vels
a
t
a
different speed bec
a
use of their different ch
a
r
a
cteristics. Comp
a
red to the he
a
viest p
a
rticles, the lightest p
a
rticles
move more quickly
a
nd
a
t
a
gre
a
ter dist
a
nce. The pigments th
a
t m
a
ke up
a
n ink s
a
mple
a
re thus sep
a
r
a
ted out.

3. Apparatus
Tools needed to c
a
rry out the p
a
per chrom
a
togr
a
phy technique
a
re:
1. Absorbent p
a
per, norm
a
lly
f
ilter p
a
per
2. Gl
a
ss t
a
nk, with
a
lid on top
3. Ink, p
a
int or wh
a
tever solution you will be using
in the sep
a
r
a
ting method.
4. Gl
a
ss rod, to hold the
f
ilter p
a
per on.
5. W
a
ter

4. Advantages
1. The technique is simple
a
nd c
a
n be c
a
rried out
unsupervised.
Disadvantages
2. It c
a
n be done with simple house items; low-cost.
3. Both inorg
a
nic
a
nd org
a
nic subst
a
nces c
a
n be
identi
f
ied with p
a
per chrom
a
togr
a
phy.
1. Complex mixture c
a
nnot be sep
a
r
a
ted by p
a
per
chrom
a
togr
a
phy.
2. L
a
rge qu
a
ntity of s
a
mple c
a
nnot be
a
pplied on
p
a
per chrom
a
togr
a
phy.
3. The time required to c
a
rry out this technique is
l
a
rge.