Below is a cartoon of a developed silica gel TLC plate on which was eluted benzo

Question

Below is a cartoon of a developed silica gel TLC plate on which was eluted benzoic acid (more polar) and ethyl benzoate (less polar) using ethyl acetate as the eluting solvent. Calculate the Rf for spot A.

If two samples are spotted on a TLC plate and after developing the TLC plate the two compounds have the same Rf what conclusions can you draw about the two compounds?

Which is a more polar solvent mixture (mobile phase) for TLC, 1:1 ethyl acetate/hexane or 4:1 ethyl acetate/hexane?

Explanation / Answer

Rf= distance between origin and spot A/ distance between origin and solvent front

As you havent provided the distances in the picture, I am calculating by scale.

Rf=2cm/3cm= 0.667

every molecule has its characteristic Rf value. So if two components have same Rf value then they are same compounds indeed.

1:1 ethyl acetate/hexane is more polar

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