Know Your Chromatography Adsorbents Better
We all know an adsorbent as a highly porous material with a large surface area, which is capable of adsorbing substances by using inter molecular forces. Adsorbents find extensive use in thin-layer and column chromatography because of the fact that by using them, solutes are evenly distributed between the adsorbent surface and a mobile phase. Adsorbents find extensive use in gas-solid and liquid-soild chromatography. They are also utilized to extract traces of organic materials from large amounts of water. The most commonly used adsorbents in both gas-soild and liquid-solid chromatography include silica gel, alumina, carbon and different types of bonded phases. Where are Adsorbents Mostly Used? The type of adsorbent to be used in chromatography, be it thin-layer, flash or column, depends on the nature of the mixture that has to be split apart. One also needs to factor in the purpose for which the chromatography is being carried out. Chromatography adsorbents are mainly...