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Glowmatography is a laboratory technique for the separation of
This experiment can be conducted with glow sticks, chalks, and solutions of acetone or isopropyl alcohol.
Drops of glowing fluid from a glow stick are added to a chalk so that a band is created halfway through it. The chalk is then placed vertically into a beaker filled with a small amount of acetone or alcohol - ensuring the surface of the solvent is below the dye band. The liquid is then allowed to travel up the chalk; polar dyes would tend to stick to the chalk and not travel significantly while non-polar dyes would travel up with the solvent. Once it travels almost to the top of the chalk, it is removed from the beaker. The chalk
Glowmatography is a laboratory technique for the separation of dye
A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
s present in solutions contained in glow sticks
A glow stick, also known as a light stick, chem light, light wand, light rod, and rave light, is a self-contained, short-term light-source. It consists of a translucent plastic tube containing isolated substances that, when combined, make light ...
. The chemical components of such solutions can be chromatographically separated into polar
Polar may refer to:
Geography
Polar may refer to:
* Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates
* Polar climate, the c ...
and nonpolar
In chemistry, polarity is a separation of electric charge leading to a molecule or its chemical groups having an electric dipole moment, with a negatively charged end and a positively charged end.
Polar molecules must contain one or more polar ...
components. Developed as a laboratory class experiment, it can be used to demonstrate chemistry concepts of polarity, chemical kinetics
Chemical kinetics, also known as reaction kinetics, is the branch of physical chemistry that is concerned with understanding the rates of chemical reactions. It is to be contrasted with chemical thermodynamics, which deals with the direction in wh ...
, and chemiluminescence
Chemiluminescence (also chemoluminescence) is the emission of light (luminescence) as the result of a chemical reaction. There may also be limited emission of heat. Given reactants A and B, with an excited intermediate ◊,
: + -> lozenge -> ...
.
Description
In the chromatography of a glow stick solution, a piece ofchalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...
, a highly polar
Polar may refer to:
Geography
Polar may refer to:
* Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates
* Polar climate, the c ...
substance, is used as the stationary phase while comparatively less-polar solvents like acetone
Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone), is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour.
Acetone is miscib ...
and 91% isopropyl alcohol
Isopropyl alcohol (IUPAC name propan-2-ol and also called isopropanol or 2-propanol) is a colorless, flammable organic compound with a pungent alcoholic odor. As an isopropyl group linked to a hydroxyl group (chemical formula ) it is the simple ...
can be used as the mobile phase
In analytical and organic chemistry, elution is the process of extracting one material from another by washing with a solvent; as in washing of loaded ion-exchange resins to remove captured ions.
In a liquid chromatography experiment, for exa ...
. Chalk is made up of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) or calcium sulfate (CaSO4), and therefore contains ions. This allows it to attract other ions
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...
and polar molecules
In chemistry, polarity is a separation of electric charge leading to a molecule or its chemical groups having an electric dipole moment, with a negatively charged end and a positively charged end.
Polar molecules must contain one or more polar ...
, but not nonpolar molecules
In chemistry, polarity is a separation of electric charge leading to a molecule or its chemical groups having an electric dipole moment, with a negatively charged end and a positively charged end.
Polar molecules must contain one or more polar ...
. As a result, ionic and more-polar dyes would be attracted to the stationary phase and move relatively slowly or a fairly small distance, while less polar dyes would migrate further as the mobile phase wicks up the chalk. This then allows for the separation of dyes.
Experiment
This experiment can be conducted with glow sticks, chalks, and solutions of acetone or isopropyl alcohol.
Drops of glowing fluid from a glow stick are added to a chalk so that a band is created halfway through it. The chalk is then placed vertically into a beaker filled with a small amount of acetone or alcohol - ensuring the surface of the solvent is below the dye band. The liquid is then allowed to travel up the chalk; polar dyes would tend to stick to the chalk and not travel significantly while non-polar dyes would travel up with the solvent. Once it travels almost to the top of the chalk, it is removed from the beaker. The chalk chromatogram
In chemical analysis, chromatography is a laboratory technique for the separation of a mixture into its components. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid solvent (gas or liquid) called the ''mobile phase'', which carries it through a system (a ...
, with separation of colours, can then be observed in a dark room.
Additionally, this glomatographic experiment can be done using other materials. For instance, silica gel
Silica gel is an amorphous and porous form of silicon dioxide (silica), consisting of an irregular tridimensional framework of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms with nanometer-scale voids and pores. The voids may contain water or some other l ...
can be used as the stationary phase together with a solution of nonpolar hexanes
Hexane () is an organic compound, a straight-chain alkane with six carbon atoms and has the molecular formula C6H14.
It is a colorless liquid, odorless when pure, and with boiling points approximately . It is widely used as a cheap, relatively ...
acting as the mobile phase. The polar components would be attracted to the polar silanol
A silanol is a functional group in silicon chemistry with the connectivity Si–O–H. It is related to the hydroxy functional group (C–O–H) found in all alcohols. Silanols are often invoked as intermediates in organosilicon c ...
(Si-OH) groups on the surface of the silica gel, and the nonpolar components would travel further with the hexanes. Further, dyes in glow sticks can also be extracted using liquid carbon dioxide
Liquid carbon dioxide is the liquid state of carbon dioxide (), which cannot occur under atmospheric pressure. It can only exist at a pressure above , under (temperature of critical point) and above (temperature of triple point). Low-temperatu ...
(CO2) as an environmentally friendly or green solvent
Green chemistry, also called sustainable chemistry, is an area of chemistry and chemical engineering focused on the design of products and processes that minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. While environmental che ...
. In this case, non polar dyes would dissolve in the liquid CO2 and other dyes would be attracted to cotton.
See also
*Retardation factor In chromatography, the retardation factor (''R'') is the fraction of an analyte in the mobile phase of a chromatographic system. In planar chromatography in particular, the retardation factor ''R''F is defined as the ratio of the distance traveled b ...
References
External links
{{commonscat, Glowmatography Chemistry classroom experiments Chromatography