Silicone grease

From Sciencemadness Wiki
Revision as of 17:36, 20 June 2019 by Mabus (Talk | contribs)

(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to: navigation, search

Silicone grease is a waterproof grease made by combining a silicone oil with a thickener, used in labs to grease ground glass joints, to prevent them from getting stuck (freezing).

General

Silicone grease is soluble in organic solvents, and lubrication of an apparatus with silicone grease may result in the reaction mixture being contaminated with the grease. Silicone grease does not resist powerful oxidizers, like nitrogen dioxide and chlorosilanes.

Availability

Lab silicone grease can be bought online or from lab suppliers.

Alternatives

Conc. sulfuric acid can be used as replacement for silicon grease, especially when distilling nitric acid, though it cannot be used when doing acid-sensitive reactions. Petroleum jelly can be used in some cases, except for when dealing with oxidizing agents or halogens.

See also

References

Relevant Sciencemadness threads