As a specialist in the field of chromatography, I'd like to provide a comprehensive answer to the question of which compounds elute first in column chromatography.

Column chromatography is a technique used to separate the components of a mixture based on their affinity to the stationary phase. The stationary phase is typically a solid material, such as silica gel or alumina, packed into a column. The mobile phase, which can be a liquid or a gas, is passed through the column, carrying the sample mixture along with it. The separation is achieved due to the different interactions between the compounds of the mixture and the stationary phase.

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Polar compounds will interact with the silica more strongly than non-polar ones so will come off the column, or elute, after non-polar compounds. When a sample contains compounds with similar polarity, the separation between then can be small and recovering all of your clean sample can become a challenge.Jul 3, 2012read more >>