Florisil Powder (60-100 mesh) is a highly selective, hard, granular activated magnesium silicate adsorbent used extensively as a stationary phase packing material in preparative, analytical, and column chromatography. It is particularly famous in environmental, food-safety, and forensic chemistry for clean-up procedures to separate target chemical residues from complex oily or fatty backgrounds.

Chemical Profile

• Chemical Composition: Synthetic magnesia-silica gel (MgO. xSiO₂). It is a white, free-flowing, highly porous powder.

• CAS Number: 1343-88-0

• Nature: It behaves as a basic, polar adsorbent. While similar to silica gel or alumina, it exhibits unique surface activity because the magnesium ions give it a specialized affinity for highly electronegative, polar, or halogenated compounds.

Decoding “60-100 Mesh”

The mesh size refers directly to the physical dimensions of the granules, determining how quickly liquids can flow through the powder bed:

• Particle Size Range: A 60-100 mesh specification means the granules are small enough to pass through a screen with 60 holes per linear inch, but large enough to be caught by a screen with 100 holes per inch (approximately 150 to 250 micrometers).

• The Balancing Act: This precise particle size is the “sweet spot” for classic gravity-fed or low-pressure column chromatography. It provides a large surface area for excellent chemical separation while keeping the powder coarse enough that solvents can flow through at a reasonable speed without requiring high-pressure pumps.