Division

F1Usually, silica gel can be used directly from the container without any treatment. However, some batches of silica gel may show low activity resulting in bad chromatographic separations. Under this circumstance, the silica gel should be treated in the following way: Activate the silica gel by heating for a minimum of four hours at 550 °C. After heating, place the silica gel in a desiccator while the gel is cooling and then transfer the silica gel to a stoppered flask. Add 2 % of water and shake until no lumps can be seen and the powder flows freely.

If batches of silica gel result in chromatograms with interfering peaks, the silica gel should be treated as above. An alternative could be the use of extra pure silica gel 60 (Merck, reference 7754).