Hi Subanjiny

Making TLC plates in-house is a very common and straightforward method. You will need the following supplies:

1) a weighing balance

2) A glass stir rod

3) Distilled water

4) Silica gel powder : you get silica gel with binder also, I recommend using that

5) If you don't get silica gel with binder, then you will need gypsum (~15%) as the binder

6) Microscopic slides or bigger glass plates that you intend to use

7) pipettes

8) An oven

Dissolve the silica gel powder in about two portions of distilled water and add ~15 % of binder (if not using silica gel with binder). Using a glass rod, make the slurry homogeneous and make sure there are no lumps.

Place the glass plate on a flat surface and with the help of a pipette, pour the slurry evenly on the plate. You can move the plate around to make sure that the slurry is evenly distributed. There should not be uneven spots on the plate. (This might require a few trials before  you master it).

Once you pour the slurry, let it dry. Finally place the plates for 45-60 minutes at 120 C to activate them.

You can not store the slurry for long as the binder will make it dry and hard. Therefore, I will recommend making few plates, which could be stored as long as you want.

Please feel free to ask any follow-up questions.

Cheers!

Dear Bhupinder Singh

Thank you so much for your answer. I'll try to prepare as you explained. Could you please let me know the proportion of silica gel: binder, in case if I am using gypsum as binder?

Hi Subajiny

If you are using gypsum, the normal ratio is about 15-20 %. make sure you make a fine powder of the gypsum. On the other hand, I will recommend buying silica gel that already has binder included in it.

Cheers!

Thank you very much

Hi Bhupinder Singh

sir, please tell me, the silica gel powder has the same properties as solid silica gel i.e. is the silica gel powder behave like a solid desiccant.