Chromatography lab

*Chromatography Lab*










Problem:
We were trying to figure out which solvent would carry the ink the farthest and which would bring out the most color.

Safety procedures:

• Stored the chemicals away from everything else.
• Poured the liquids into a tray. kept the tray under a fume hood.
• Wore safety goggles and aprons.

Lab Procedures:

• Picked the color of the marker(black) to test with different solvents.
• Cut 4 strips of filter paper approximately 1 cm X 8 cm.
• Made a right angle bend at one end of the paper approximately 1.5 cm from one end.
• Put a pencil line near the crease and dotted the ink several times on the pencil line. Then allowed a few seconds for the dots of ink to dry.
• Labeled the strips with H2O, CH3OH, C3H7OH, C6H14
• Placed each strip into the solvent with the short end in the liquid. Let it sit for about half an hour then recorded our observations.
  

Observations:
The water was the first one to pass the pencil line, second was the hexane, third was the isopropyl alcohol, and last was the methanol. The water carried the color the farthest up the paper and distorted the color the most. The hexane didn't carry the color at all. the methanol carried the second most color and slightly distorted it. the isopropyl alchohol was the third most successful, but barely distorted the color at all.










Part 2-
We choose four different colors and did the same procedures from part one but only used one solvent.(water)

Observations:
All of the colors were carried the same distance and each showed the different mixtures of color in each ink. They were not all carried out at the same speed though. The red was the first color start moving. Next was the orange. the rest of the colors about the same (green and blue)

Pre-lab questions:

1. What is the mobile phase in a paper chromatography investigation?
   Answer: it would be the water moving up the paper.
2. What is the stationary phase in a paper chromatography investigation?
   Answer: it is the paper being dipped in the water.
3. What is meant by the term retention time?
   the time it takes to get to its highest point.
4. Would a polar molecule or non polar molecule be a better mobile phase for a chromatography experiment?
   Answer: a polar, because water is a polar molecule and water attracts every thing because its has a positive end and a negative end, therefore tearing and pulling other molecules

In conclusion:
The water is the fastest transporter for the ink. And it seems like the less Hydrogen that there is, the better that the ink will move.