Hi there,
adding a paper or towel to the tlc chamber is told to fasten the chamber saturation in TLC.
But i could not find any information what paper can best be used for that - which works/which doesnt.
What do you use? Can you recommend a paper/towel for the chamber saturation?
Daryl Goodrich
You can use normal filter paper W-42 (Whatman Make). You can keep chamber for 5 to 10 minutes after adding mobile phase to well saturate the chamber if not use filter paper.
To optimize TLC chamber saturation and prevent premature evaporation of the eluent, it is recommended to place an absorbent, undyed paper such as a paper towel or filter paper cut to fit flat on the bottom of the chamber, avoiding obstruction of the TLC plate; tilting the chamber after adding the solvent helps wet the paper and saturate the chamber, ensuring consistent and reproducible separations, with many labs using simple paper towels or Whatman filter paper for this purpose while avoiding printed paper that may contain interfering dyes.