What is Chromatography?
In chemical analysis, chromatography is a laboratory technique for the separation of a mixture into its components. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid solvent (gas or liquid) called the mobile phase, which carries it through a system (a column, a capillary tube, a plate, or a sheet) on which a material called the stationary phase is fixed. Because the different constituents of the mixture tend to have different affinities for the stationary phase and are retained for different lengths of time depending on their interactions with its surface sites, the constituents travel at different apparent velocities in the mobile fluid, causing them to separate. The separation is based on the differential partitioning between the mobile and stationary phases. Subtle differences in a compound's partition coefficient result in differential retention on the stationary phase and thus affect the separation.
How to Calculate Retention Factor?
Retention Factor calculator uses Actual Retention Factor = Solute Distance/Solvent Distance to calculate the Actual Retention Factor, The Retention Factor formula is defined as the distance travelled by a given component divided by the distance travelled by the solvent front. Actual Retention Factor is denoted by RF symbol.
How to calculate Retention Factor using this online calculator? To use this online calculator for Retention Factor, enter Solute Distance (dsolu) & Solvent Distance (dsolv) and hit the calculate button. Here is how the Retention Factor calculation can be explained with given input values -> 3.2 = 80/25.