Handling Air- and Water-Sensitive Chemicals Using a Schlenk Line

Robert M Rioux, Ajay Sathe, Zhifeng Chen, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

The use of reagents sensitive to oxidation or moisture necessitates the use of air-free techniques. A Schlenk line is a routinely used glass apparatus to perform air and moisture free manipulations in a chemical laboratory¹. The Schlenk line is widely utilized by many chemists since it allows them conduct air or water sensitive reactions even without the expense and restriction of a glove box. The Schlenk line can be configured to inert gas atmosphere such as Nitrogen and Argon or expose the glassware to vacuum. Another way to achieve an air and moisture free environment involves the use of a glovebox. The major difference between a Schlenk line and a glove box is that purge and refill applies directly to the reaction vessels, whereas purge and refill applies to the airlock instead of the glovebox. Besides, in a glovebox, conventional laboratory equipment can be set up with a large inert space, however gloves have to be used to handle the experiment and the glovebox itself is also expensive.