Separation in Organic Chemistry

Separation methods used in organic chemistry are briefly reviewed, emphasis being placed on aspects that are frequently ignored, and special attention being paid to the analytical applications of separation. The relevance of physical, inorganic and analytical chemistry for organic chemistry is stressed. The term 'separation' can be used in analytical chemistry in both a literal and figurative sense (an idea that is due to Professor Cüta1). In figurative separation, use is made of some difference in properties of the individual components of a mixture in order to determine one of them without physical separation from the others. In this sense, a selective titration or a spectrophotometric measurement may be a 'separation' in that no other species is measured together with the one of interest. The object of this paper is to present a survey of both literal and figurative methods of separation in organic chemistry, particular attention being paid to certain features which are often forgotten in application of the methods.