Column chromatography is also called silica gel chromatography. It utilizes the fact that different molecules have different polarity, resulting in different affinity for silica gel and developing solvent. These differences make different molecules run through silica gel at different speeds. Less polar compounds have weaker interactions with silica gel and therefore are washed through column chromatography faster. In real labs, high-performance liquid chromatography is used instead of column chromatography because of its high efficiency and convenience.
