Suppose I have a mixture of 2 pure binary compounds, a white powder. What is the best method to separate the 2 compounds?
What I have thought of so far is to dissolve powder in DI water and carry out filtration if one compound is soluble and the other is not. However, I have not been able to think of any other methods to separate the 2 compounds if both are either water-soluble or water-insoluble. I considered fractional distillation but the compounds may become anhydrous. Furthermore, the boiling points of the compounds are not given and they could end up being too close for fractional distillation to work.
Is there any efficient, and preferably simple, method to achieve the above-mentioned desired result?
Edit: Is there any general method of approach for separating such 2 compounds as there is for separating water-soluble and water-insoluble compounds?[Filtration] Or does it have to be achieved purely by trial and error of various methods?