In the chromatography of the reaction mixture, water absorbed on cellulose functioned as the stationary phase. What was the principal factor determining the migration of individual components in the sample?

Gravity/ Capillary action force: This can include gravity, pumping of fluid through the tube, or the capillary action of the liquid when moving up the sheet of paper.

Interactive force with the gel used: The another force is dependent on the fundamental properties of individual components with fluid. These can be polarity, charge, adhesive nature, etc.

The most type of the chromatography is exploiting polarity of the molecules. So in TLC, we have a sheet coated with silica gel usually (polar), and a liquid that contains a mixture of different compounds which is being pushed up paper through the capillary action.

Some liquid's polarity will be greater than the others, and that's why the liquids move at various speeds based on favorable/ unfavorable interactions between different compounds in the mixture.

In this way, one can separate a mixture into individual constituting parts.

Thus, the relative amount of hydrogen bonding to the stationary phase will determine the Relative Rate of Migration of the various components in the sample.