A chemist has a three-component mixture consisting of acetone (boiling point )
CHEMISTRY · Single correct · A Level · Chemistry · Chromatography · Chromatography
Problem
A chemist has a three-component mixture consisting of acetone (boiling point 56∘C), water, and a trace amount of a highly polar, non-volatile fluorescent dye. Budget constraints limit the use of costly techniques. Which sequence of steps will isolate the pure dye most economically while maximizing recovery?
(a) Subject the entire mixture to fractional distillation, collect the acetone and water fractions, and evaporate the residue to obtain the dye.
(b) Perform a simple distillation to remove acetone, then apply paper chromatography to the aqueous residue to isolate the dye.
(c) Vacuum-filter the original mixture, chromatograph the filtrate, and finish with fractional distillation of the remaining liquid.
(d) Apply paper chromatography directly to the original mixture without any preliminary separation.