Is the separation by chromatography restricted to only coloured compounds? Give Reason. ( very long q/ans)
Answers
Chromatography is used to separate mixtures of substances into their components. All forms ofchromatography work on the same principle. They all have a stationary phase (a solid, or a liquid supported on a solid) and a mobile phase (a liquid or a gas).Is chromatography only used for separating colours?
Chromatography was first developed by Mikhail Tsvet. He tried to separate a mixture of coloured compounds extracted from plants. As a result, the mixture got separated into different bands and thus adsorption chromatography was developed. However, chromatography has come a long way from separating just colours. In the modern days, chromatography has a wide range of uses. Some of them include:
- Separating of organic mixtures
- Determination of impurities in drugs and drug products
- Separation and identification of biological samples
- To test the purity of compounds
- Forensic analysis
- Determination of trace elements
- Analysis of biological samples to determine drug abuse
- Analysis of milk
- To check the quality of air and determine the amount of pollutants
- Separation of volatile compounds
Explanation:
The word 'chromatography' comes from the greek 'chroma', meaning colour, and 'graphein', meaning write, as the technique was originally used to separate pigments. However, chromatography can be applied to almost any chemical separation of mixtures, and is not restricted to coloured compounds.