Joint sleeve
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A joint sleeve is a PTFE sleeve used to seal ground glass joints in processes where the reagents can attack silicone grease.
Contents
General
PTFE joint sleeves are conical sheets of PTFE, which come in two versions: rigid and flexible. The rigid sleeve is thick, while the flexible one is thinner and can be deformed by hand. While the thinner ones are often preferred, they are also easier to damage. They can be used to temperatures up to 280 °C.
Availability
PTFE joint sleeves can be purchased from lab suppliers, though they area bit pricey.
DIY joint sleeve
You can make your own joint sleeves by carefully cutting a Teflon sheet in the form of a cone frustum projection, then carefully attach it to the male ground glass joint, before carefully placing it in the female ground glass joint. If your PTFE sheet gets wrinkled, it may not seal properly.
