A student spots a black ink sample 1.5 cm from the bottom of a strip of chromatography paper and develops it in 70/30 isopropanol/water. The solvent front travels 8.0 cm from the spot. Three components are observed: blue (3.2 cm), red (5.6 cm), yellow (7.2 cm), all measured from the original spot.
Which component is most strongly attracted to the cellulose paper (most polar interactions)?
- A
all are equally attracted
- B
yellow
- C
red
- Dcheck_circle
blue
Explanation
Lower Rf means stronger attraction to the stationary phase (paper). Blue has the lowest distance/Rf, so it interacts most with cellulose.