Paper Chromatography

Paper Chromatography

The solvent may be water (aqueous solvent) or an organic liquid non-aqueous solvent like an alcohol (e.g. ethanol, butanol) or a hydrocarbon (e.g. hexane)

The paper is carefully dipped into the solvent (mobile phase)

The paper is suspended so the start line (baseline) is above the liquid solvent, otherwise all the spots would dissolve in the solvent!

The solvent is absorbed into the paper and rises up it as it soaks into the paper.

This technique allows us to determine whether the ink is made up of one colour or a number of colours