lab for reduction of four nitro benzyl dehyde and TLC analysis this video will teach you how to effectively prepare and perform thin layer chromatography or TLC start TLC preparation before you run a reaction it will significantly save you time with a pencil draw a start line one centimeter from the bottom of the TLC plate and a finish line two centimeters from the top fill the TLC chamber with the eluate the Lewin is a general term for any solvent used for chromatography the level of the Lewin must be below the starting line drawn on the plate place a half-circle filter paper to ensure saturation of the chamber with vapor mix four nitro benzyl dehyde with methanol and spot it on the TLC plate label the spot SM for starting material spot and blow three times add sodium borohydride to the mixture stir it for three minutes and then spot it on the TLC plate this will be your CP one spot for crude product stir for seven more minutes and spot again this will be your CP two spot spots must be half a centimeter apart from each other put the plate in the chamber TLC can be used in multiple ways in this experiment it is used to monitor reaction progress the reaction mixture will be spotted twice on the same plate first after three minutes and then 10 minutes after the reagents were mixed place your smartphone with its camera light on behind the chamber to monitor the plate when the liquid reaches the finish line take the plate out shake it check the spots and circle them with a pencil under UV light the cp1 spot shows both the starting material and the product since the time was too short and some starting material still remains the CP 2 spot shows only the crude product because 10 minutes is enough time to complete the reaction you