What Is Chromatography

(a) What is chromatography ? For which type of mixture is it used ? (b) What are the advantages of chromatography.

Answers:

(a) This is one of the latest techniques to separate the coloured components of a mixture when all the components are very similar in their properties. Example: Components of ink are separated by this method. Ink is a mixture of different dyes, which are separated by chromatography because some of the dyes are less soluble and some are more soluble in a solvent.

(b)

  1. A very small quantity of the substance can be separated.
  2. Components with very similar physical and chemical properties can be separated.
  3. It identifies the different constitutes of a mixture.
  4. It also helps in quantitive estimation of components of a mixture.