Experiment no.

Paper Chromatography: A Separation technique

Most of the materials we encounter are not chemically pure but consist of mixtures of
different substances. The air we breathe, fertilizers and cements are a few examples of mixtures.
The mixture can be resolved or separated into its components by different ways. Since each of the
components of the mixture retains its own properties you can separate the mixture into its
components by taking advantage of the differences in their properties. For example, separation of
ink into its components can be accomplished by taking into account their different abilities to
adhere to the surface of various solids and dissolve in specific solvents. These are the basis for the
separation technique known as paper chromatography.

OBJECTIVES

1. to find out if the ink of a green highlighter is a mixture or a pure substance

2. to separate the different components of the mixture present in the ink by paper
chromatography

MATERIALS

Plastic cups 70% Ethanol

Strip of paper towel or 2ply plain tissue paper, 2cm x 10cm Cooking oil

Green highlighter (preferred, faber-castell) pencil & ruler

PROCEDURE:

Part 1 Ethanol as the solvent

1. Using a green highlighter, make a small ink dot at the middle about 1 cm away from one
edge of the 10 cm long strip of paper towel. Try to use a highlighter with a fine tip otherwise the ink
may spread too much during the separation.

2. Put enough ethanol so that the small ink dot on the paper towel is just above the ethanol in
the plastic cup.
3. Carefully insert the paper towel into the plastic cup as upright as possible, otherwise the
ethanol may travel unevenly up the paper towel and cause the ink to run off the side of the paper
towel.

4. Wait for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the ethanol level reach about 1 cm away from the
upper edge of the paper towel.

Part 2 Cooking oil as the solvent

1. Clean the plastic cup thoroughly before starting Part 2.

2. Repeat steps 1 to 4 as in part 1, using a new strip of paper towel and cooking oil as the
solvent.

DATA AND RESULTS

Show your results by using appropriate colors. Take a picture of your paper towel showing
the separation of colors. You may use flash light to make the separation more visible.

FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS

Part 1

1. What happens to the paper towel the moment it is inserted into the ethanol in the plastic
cup?

2. Does the green dot remain 1 cm from the edge of the strip of filter paper after 2 minutes?

3. What can you see on the paper towel when the ethanol level reached about one (1) cm from
the upper edge of the filter paper? (Green highlighter is made up of different colours. Blue, Yellow
and green can be seen.

4. Is the highlighter a mixture or a pure substance? Give a reason for your answer.

5. Which component in the green highlighter is most soluble in ethanol? Explain your answer.
Which component in the green highlighter is least soluble in ethanol? Explain your answer.
6. Is the green highlighter a homogeneous or heterogeneous mixture? Explain your answer.

Part 2

1. Does the green dot on the paper towel remain 1 cm from the edge of the paper towel after 2
minutes?

2. What happens to the dot of green highlighter after 10 minutes?

3. Has the green highlighter dot separated into different components as in Part 1?

4. Can cooking oil be used to separate the components of green highlighter?

5. Give a reason for your answer to question 4.