Schlenk line

The Schlenk line (also vacuum gas manifold) is a commonly used chemistry apparatus developed by Wilhelm Schlenk. It consists of a dual manifold with several ports. One manifold is connected to a source of purified inert gas, while the other is connected to a vacuum pump. The inert-gas line is vented through an oil bubbler, while solvent vapors and gaseous reaction products are prevented from contaminating the vacuum pump by a liquid-nitrogen or dry-ice/acetone cold trap. Special stopcocks or Teflon taps allow vacuum or inert gas to be selected without the need for placing the sample on a separate line. Schlenk lines are useful for safely and successfully manipulating moisture- and air-sensitive compounds. The vacuum is also often used to remove the last traces of solvent from a sample. Vacuum and gas manifolds often have many ports and lines, and with care, it is possible for several reactions or operations to be run simultaneously. When the reagents are highly susceptible to oxidation, traces of oxygen may pose a problem. Then, for the removal of oxygen below the ppm level, the inert gas needs to be purified by passing it through a deoxygenation catalyst. This is usually a column of copper(I) or manganese(II) oxide, which reacts with oxygen traces present in the inert gas. The main techniques associated with the use of a Schlenk line include: counterflow additions, where air-stable reagents are added to the reaction vessel against a flow of inert gas; the use of syringes and rubber septa to transfer liquids and solutions; cannula transfer, where liquids or solutions of air-sensitive reagents are transferred between different vessels stoppered with septa using a long thin tube known as a cannula. Liquid flow is supported by vacuum or inert-gas pressure. Glassware are usually connected by tightly fitting and greased ground glass joints. Round bends of glass tubing with ground glass joints may be used to adjust the orientation of various vessels. Glassware is necessarily purged of outside air by alternating application of vacuum and inert gas.

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Schlenk line

Air sensitivity

Air sensitivity is a term used, particularly in chemistry, to denote the reactivity of chemical compounds with some constituent of air. Most often, reactions occur with atmospheric oxygen (O2) or water vapor (H2O), although reactions with the other constituents of air such as carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitrogen (N2) are also possible. A variety of air-free techniques have been developed to handle air-sensitive compounds. Two main types of equipment are gloveboxes and Schlenk lines.

Inert gas

An inert gas is a gas that does not readily undergo chemical reactions with other chemical substances and therefore does not readily form chemical compounds. The noble gases often do not react with many substances and were historically referred to as the inert gases. Inert gases are used generally to avoid unwanted chemical reactions degrading a sample. These undesirable chemical reactions are often oxidation and hydrolysis reactions with the oxygen and moisture in air.

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