Sciencemadness Discussion Board

n-butyllithium

ChemistryForever - 29-12-2018 at 03:54

I'm planning to synthesize some n-BuLi under a homemade glove box in an argon atmosphere ( i mean like i put argon in that box from a tank, and an oxygen detector to be sure that the oxygen level is as low as possible ). After the synthesis : would a rubber placed instead of the normal cap for a bottle be good/safe, to ensure that no air gets in, so if i use it i use a syringe ?

Ubya - 29-12-2018 at 07:54

do you mean a rubber septa?
anyway, maybe a rubber septa alone could work, but a second safety device would be better, i've seen pyrophoric liquids are stored in metal (don't know if metal is compatible with n-BuLi) cans with a ball valve AND a rubber septa. if you can manage to add a ball valve to your storage container you can be pretty sure no air will get in, and yea use a syringe to pull the n-BuLi when you need it

Dr.Bob - 29-12-2018 at 07:54

A good rubber septa would be fine, I would just secure it with some wire, so it cannot pop off or leak. If you keep it lower in molarity, it is much safer as well. Somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 M is ideal.