How to monitor a reaction in presence of similar Rfs for both starting materials and product of interest?
Possible Solutions:
- Try the co-spotting method.
- Try to visualize the plate using anisaldehyde or molybdene. Spot color or brightness differ for two compounds when using these stains.
- If none of the two previous solutions work, change solvent systems (use another class of solvent).
Tips: in chromatography, there are three classes of solvent systems providing significantly different results: