Activated carbon: is a kind of non-polar adsorbent used more. Generally, it needs to be washed with dilute hydrochloric acid, followed by ethanol, and then washed with water. After drying at 80 ℃, it can be used for column chromatography. Granular activated carbon is the best choice for column chromatography. If it is fine powder of activated carbon, it is necessary to add appropriate amount of diatomite as filter aid, so as to avoid too slow flow rate.
Activated carbon is a non-polar adsorbent. Its adsorption is opposite to silica gel and alumina. It has a strong affinity for non-polar substances. It has the strongest adsorption capacity in aqueous solution and weaker in organic solvent. Therefore, the elution capacity of water is the weakest and the organic solvent is stronger. When the adsorbed substance is eluted from the activated carbon, the polarity of the solvent decreases, and the adsorption capacity of the solute on the activated carbon decreases, and the elution capacity of the eluent is enhanced. Water soluble components, such as amino acids, sugars and glycosides, were isolated.