[yitzik]

hello!
in the lab we have made an experiment in which one of the side products might be tolluene (wittig reaction- in case that there is water in the reaction mixture the yilid might react with water to produce tolluene )
i have some unexplained spot on the tlc plate (silica) and i'm wondering wether it could be tolluene? does tolluene  have enough conjugation to absorb uv light and show up on tlc? or must it be some other material?

thank you!

[Babcock_Hall]

I don't see why it could not show up, but it might evaporate with time.  Can you run a toluene standard?

[Corribus]

Yes, most benzene derivatives will have weak UV absorption in the 250-260 nm range.