u/Patient_Flatworm1065

Hey, I have a small question about silica deactivation for column chromatography. I found a procedure that says "After concentration, the residue was quickly chromatographed (20% EtOAc-dichloromethane, silica gel was de-activated with 35 wt% water)". I never needed to deactivate silica, so how much water to I really need? Is it, for example 65 g of Silica + 35 g of water (which seems very excessive) to get 35% of water in the end "product". Or is 100 g of silica + 35 g of water (which seems much more reasonable)?

Additionally, is it possible to deactivate my silica TLC plate to check Rf before running the column? I guess dipping into water and drying is too easy?

Thannks a lot!