Vacuum distillation template

Claisen adapter, still head, condenser and vacuum adapter, with a cold trap and manometer on the line to the pump.

What the template shows

• Distil high-boiling or heat-sensitive liquids at a lower temperature
• Water out
• Bulb level with the side arm. A liquid boils when its vapour pressure equals the pressure above it, so less pressure, lower boiling point
• Claisen adapter
• Pot thermometer in one neck; the bend keeps bumped liquid out of the head
• Stirred flask
• Stir hard (or use a capillary bleed) to stop bumping; boiling chips do not work under vacuum
• Record the pressure with the boiling point
• Round-bottom only; check all glass for cracks
• Cold trap
• In a Dewar of dry ice and acetone; keeps vapours out of the pump
• Vacuum pump
• Evacuate before heating; at the end cool, let air in, then stop the pump
• Reaction setup

Drawn with 33 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw.

Sources

• Zubrick, The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual, 10th ed., Wiley 2016 Textbook
• Furniss et al., Vogel's Textbook of Practical Organic Chemistry, 5th ed., Longman 1989 Textbook
• Atkins, de Paula & Keeler, Atkins' Physical Chemistry, 11th ed., OUP 2018 Textbook