Introduction:

Our purpose for this lab was to separate dye colors from each other using TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography), and Column Chromatography.

Results:
TLC: Table 1.1: Seperation using K2SO4:H2O:CH3CN Dye color on TLC Distance of dye from plate the pencil line (cm) Purple 5.8 Yellow Yellow (mixture) Blue Blue (mixture) 5.4 5.1 3.8 3.9

Table 1.2: Seperation using 95% ethanol Dye color on TLC Distance of dye from plate the pencil line (cm) Purple 5.7 Yellow Yellow (mixture) Blue Blue (mixture) 0 0 3.5 3.4

The above tables depict the two different trials that were conducted using two different solvents which were 95% ethanol and potassium sulfate mixture. The mixture solution for each trial was separated into three colors; yellow, blue and purple.

Column Chromatography: The solvent 95% ethanol was added to the column that contained the alumina substance and the sand. After the pressure was released, there was a pure blue solution gathered by the beaker below the column. While using another beaker to collect the next round of solution, a 0.1 M of NaOH was then added to the same column and the pressure released by the stopcock to give a solution that was green in color.

Discussion:
TLC: In this experiment, the colors yellow and blue that are captioned (mixture) are the colors that have separated from the mixture of both methyl blue and fluorescein dye. The solvents for the two different trials were potassium sulfate and 95% ethanol. The reason why two solvents were used each for a different trial was is because some of the dyes may or may not dissolve in one of the solvents. The distance traveled upwards by a certain color signifies its solubility in that compound. For both solvents, methylene blue is less soluble than fluourescein yellow because it traveled a smaller distance up the TLC plate, whereas none of the two yellow dyes in Ethanol 95% traveled up the TLC plate. This is due to the insolubility of fluorescein in Ethanol. Any color that showed up in the TLC plate that was not yellow or blue would definitely have been an impurity or a mixture of foreign compounds. This method of color dye separation is in this case more informative when potassium sulfate is used as the solvent since all three mixtures are moving up the TLC plate. The TLC method also implies that the impurity (in this case the purple dye) within the blue and yellow mixtures is even more soluble in both potassium sulfate and in

95% ethanol because of the observed distance the purple dye has traveled up the TLC. The yellow fluourescein and methyl blue appear to be just as soluble in both pure form or within the mixture solute. Column Chromatography: We know from our experiment with TLC that 95% ethanol was not as good a solvent for the color mixture as was the potassium sulfate. When we introduced the 95% ethanol to our column, we collected blue solution. This indicates that even in column chromatography, ethanol had only dissolved the methylene blue and brought it down to the beaker. On the other hand, when adding NaOH to the column, both dye colors were dissolved and gathered down to the beaker which clearly indicates that both blue and yellow dyes were gathered since green is a mixture of both blue and yellow. Conclusion: We can conclude from this experiment that if we want to isolate methylene blue only, we should use ethanol to gather it as a pure substance. If we were to isolate both fluourescein yellow and methylene blue from the rest of the impurities within the mixture, our ideal solvent would be either NaOH or Potassium Sulfate depending on what method we are using. It is very important what solvent we use to isolate certain compounds depending on what and how many of these mixtures do we want to separate.

Appendix:
Rf= b/a= Distance traveled by spot / Distance traveled by solvent Potassium Sulfate: Fluourescein yellow = 5.4cm / 6.2cm = 0.871 Methylene blue = 3.8cm / 6.2cm = 0.613 95% ethanol: Fluourescein yellow = 0cm / 6.1cm = 0 Methylene blue = 3.5cm / 6.1cm = 0.574

Questions:
1. The silicon dioxide molecule has a strong dipole moment, and since the methylene blue and fluourescein yellow are also polar, the dipole-dipole interactions between SiO2 and fluourescein yellow and methylene blue. The rule like dissolves like would also confirm this phenomenon.

2. The student did not allow the complete drainage of the 1st solution with the 1st solvent. This is why when he/she drained the solution the next day, the remaining 1st solution that was not drained had mixed with the 2nd solution that was supposed to be drained separately. 3. Reverse phase chromatography is a relatively newer method in separate mixtures instead of the traditional column and TLC methods. This new method deals with covalently bond alkyl compounds after isolating the polar residues.