Column chromatography record template

Flash column record: crude and silica mass, column size, eluent and loading, a TLC plate drawing with Rf worked from measured distances, a fraction table and the combined fractions with mass recovered.

What the template shows

• Set-up, TLC with Rf worked out, fractions collected and combined
• Column set-up
• Expt code:
• Crude mass:
• 3.0 cm Ø, silica height 15 cm
• dry load on 3 g silica
• hexane/EtOAc 3:1 → 2:1
• Fraction size:
• TLC (hexane/EtOAc 2:1, UV 254 nm)
• Distances from origin (cm): front 4.0
• X (less polar): 2.8 / 4.0 = Rf 0.70
• TLC spots
• hex/EtOAc 3:1
• keep apart
• Combined A (fr. 9–17), mass:
• 1.32 g of 2, white solid
• 1.32 / 1.45 g = 91% of crude loaded
• Example data for layout only, not measured results: replace with your own.
• Choose the eluent by TLC first: the product should run at Rf ≈ 0.25–0.35 and well apart from its neighbours.
• Use about 30–100 g of silica per g of crude (more for close spots); record the column diameter and the height of the silica.
• Rf = distance moved by the spot ÷ distance moved by the solvent front, both measured from the origin.
• Spot every few fractions on one plate, then combine only the fractions that show a single spot.
• Record the mass recovered; it should not exceed the crude mass loaded.
• Distances, fractions and masses are example data · Rf worked from the distances shown

Drawn with 47 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw.

Sources

• Kanare, Writing the Laboratory Notebook, ACS 1985 Textbook
• Coghill & Garson, The ACS Style Guide, 3rd ed., ACS/OUP 2006 Textbook