Chromatography Principles

Interactive visualization of separation science and chromatographic analysis

Chromatographic Column

Column Length: 25 cm
Flow Rate: 1.0 mL/min
Temperature: 25 °C
Stationary Phase: Silica Gel
Mobile Phase: Organic Solvent

Understanding the Chromatogram

Peak 1: tR = 2.5 min, w = 0.3 min
Peak 2: tR = 4.2 min, w = 0.4 min
Peak 3: tR = 6.8 min, w = 0.5 min

Parameters

Resume

Calculated Parameters

Resolution (R): 1.50
Resolution (R): 2.10
Theoretical Plates (N): 2778
Theoretical Plates (N): 1764
Separation Factor (α): 2.00
Separation Factor (α): 1.75

Chromatography Equations

Distribution Coefficient: K = Cs/Cm
Capacity Factor: k' = (tR - t0)/t0
Retention Time: tR = t0(1 + k')
Resolution: R = 2(tR2 - tR1)/(w1 + w2)
Theoretical Plates: N = 16(tR/w)²
Separation Factor: α = k'2/k'1

What is Chromatography?

Chromatography is a separation technique used to separate mixtures into individual components based on their differential distribution between a stationary phase and a mobile phase.

Basic Principles

Understanding the Chromatogram

A chromatogram plots detector response vs time, showing peaks for each separated component. Peak position identifies component, peak area quantifies concentration.

Resolution and Separation Quality

Resolution (R) quantifies separation between adjacent peaks. R = 1.5 indicates baseline separation.

Column Efficiency - Theoretical Plates

Column efficiency is measured by theoretical plate number N = 16(tR/w)². Higher N indicates better separation.

Types of Chromatography

Applications

How to Use This Visualization