Separation of pigments using Paper Chromatography Chromatography techniques use

Question

Separation of pigments using Paper Chromatography Chromatography techniques use differences in solubility properties of different chemicals to separate mixtures of different molecules. A leaf can be liquefied by blender homogenization and the individual pigment components can be separated using differences in their solubility in various solvents. For example, some pigment molecules readily dissolve in non-polar organic solvents, but not in a polar solvent like water. Your paper chromatography experiment using leaf extracts takes advantage of these solubility differences to separate light capturing pigments. A small amount of leaf extract is applied to a tiny spot at one end of a strip of chromatography paper, which is then suspended in a small amount of solvent, so the spot of pigment sits above the solvent pool. The solvent in this lab is actually a mixture of petroleum ether (insoluble in water) and acetone (soluble in water), which will separate pigments in a chloroplast extract.made from spinach leaves. As the solvents rise by capillary action up the paper strip, the molecules present in the leaf extract dissolve in the solvent. The more soluble pigments in the solvent mixture move further up the paper. Since paper is made of cellulose, a polar substance, non-polar molecules are able to move more quickly than polar molecules, which tend to bind to the cellulose structure of the paper strip. of the pigments commonly found in spinach leaves, chlorophylls a and b have many polar groups, followed by the less polar xanthophylls and the extremely non-polar carotenes. Where do you predict each of these pigments will migrate on the paper relative to the point of origin in your relatively non-polar solvent?

Explanation / Answer

From top to bottom of the chromatography paper,

caroteins migrate faster as thay are extremely non -polar followed by xanthophills with less polarity.

chlorophyll a follows xanthophills and then comes chrolophyll b .

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