Polyester sheets (about 0.2mm thick) can be more economically coated, since they can be manufactured in roll form. Other advantages are that polyester sheets are unbreakable, and they need less packing and less shelf space for storage.
Furthermore, they can be cut and eluted, etc. Small sheets, such as 8x4cm, can be economically manufactured and packed. The charring technique can be applied for silica coated POLYGRAM sheets, however at somewhat lower temperatures than on glass. The maximum temperature for POLYGRAM sheets is 160°C.
Features:
Silica 60, specific surface (BET) ~ 500 m2/g, mean pore size 60 Å, specific pore volume 0.75 mL/g, partcile size 5–17 µm; standard grade
Thickness of layer for analytical plates 0.25 mm, for preparative plates 0.5 and 1 mm
For 2 mm preparative layers a slightly coarser material is used.
Indicators: manganese activated zinc silicate with green fluorescence for short-wave UV (254 nm); special inorganic fluorescent pigment with blue fluorescence for long-wave UV (366 nm)
Binders: highly polymeric products, which are stable in almost all organic solvents and resistant towards aggressive visualisation reagents
The binder system for POLYGRAM sheets is also completely stable in purely aqueous eluents.