SEPARATION OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SURFACTANT BY THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY

The separation of different types of surfactant has been achieved by m ultiple development on silica plates. The separation technique develop ed is described in detail for a mixture containing surfactants of the four types: anionic, cationic, amphoteric, and non-ionic. The method i s suitable for a separation of surfactants into the single classes by four-fold development using four different solvents. The reliability o f the method has been tested for sixteen different surfactants, for wh ich the R(f) values have been determined. The thickening agent Comperl an F, a linolic diethylamide, did not influence the separation.