IB Practical 4: Chromatography of plant pigments

Photosynthesis begins with the absorption of light by pigments in plant cells. These pigments can be identified by a technique called thin layer chromatography (TLC), in which pigments are carried along a porous surface (like cellulose paper or a silica surface) by a solvent. In TLC, different pigments move at different rates, as they are not equally soluble in the solvent and they interact differently with the chromatography surface.