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A Simple Method For Purify Silica Gel

This document presents a simple and efficient method for purifying used silica gel from undergraduate chemistry courses for reuse in column chromatography. The method involves heating 300-500g of dry silica gel in 500mL of water and adding 40-60mL of 10% sodium hypochlorite solution, heating for 1 hour to purify the silica gel. After cooling and decanting the liquid, the purified silica gel is dried and activated in an oven before being tested for adequate adsorptive capacity through chromatography of azo-dye standards, proving its suitability for reuse.

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Alex Cervantes
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267 views1 page

A Simple Method For Purify Silica Gel

This document presents a simple and efficient method for purifying used silica gel from undergraduate chemistry courses for reuse in column chromatography. The method involves heating 300-500g of dry silica gel in 500mL of water and adding 40-60mL of 10% sodium hypochlorite solution, heating for 1 hour to purify the silica gel. After cooling and decanting the liquid, the purified silica gel is dried and activated in an oven before being tested for adequate adsorptive capacity through chromatography of azo-dye standards, proving its suitability for reuse.

Uploaded by

Alex Cervantes
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

A Simple Method for Purifying Silica Gel for Column Chromatography

Chemical producm are often purified by column chromatography'-2. Silica gel is the mmt r c m m m adsorhent for this purpose but ir very expensive and also not suitable for multiple chrumatoflaphg reparatima. ( h e r a l l y , several pounds uf silica gel is accumulated during lab experiments from undergraduate courses. However, this used silica gel is impure, and the procedures available for its purification are long and too tedious for chemistry students. The procedure using sodium hypochlorite solution (&lo%) is quick and efficient and requires only one laboratory period.

Experimental
Add 300-500 g of dry silica gel (to be purified) t o a 1-L beaker containing 500 mL distilled water. Heat the contents of the beaker t o bailing with a hot plate (open flame can be also used). Add, dropwise, 40-60 mL of aqueous sodium hv~ochloritet o the mixture and k e e ~ the heatiue for 1 h. Caution: Check The n H of the NaOCl solution durine the addition. If i t is basic it mav dissolve the silica eel. Allow the mixture to cool t o room temoerature. and decant the liouid.

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sodium chloride. Let the silica gel to dry in a dust-free place, and activate i t in an oven a t 100 "C for 1 h before use. The yield ranged between 75-85s. A mixture of azo-dye standards was chromatographycally separated using both brand-new silica gel and the adsorbent purified by this method. The adsorptive capacity of the purified silica was thus tested and proved by the student t o he adecluate. We have conducted this laboratorv activitv for the vast . vear . and consider the educational result extremelv gratifying for teacher and students. Heftman, E., Ed. Chromatography; Reinhold: New York, 1961. Srivastava, V. K.; Srivastwa, K. K. Introduction of Chromatography; Chand: New Delhi, 1985. Miller, J. M., Ed. SeporationMethods in Chemical Analysis; Wiley-Interscience: New York, 1975. 'Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Anionlo E. Guarconl and Vfctor F. Ferreira4 Universidade Federal Fluminanse 24.000-Nit& Rio dB Janeiro. Brazil

Volume 6 5

Number 1 0

October 1988

89 1

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