image:sublimation apparatus.svg, 200px, Simple sublimation apparatus. Water usually cold, is circulated in cold finger to allow the desired compound to be deposited.
1 Cooling water in 2 Cooling water out 3 Vacuum/gas line 4 Sublimation chamber 5 Sublimed compound 6 Crude material 7 External heating A sublimatory or sublimation apparatus is equipment, commonly laboratory glassware, for purification of Chemical compound, compounds by selective Sublimation (chemistry), sublimation. In principle, the operation resembles purification by

distillation Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...

, except that the products do not pass through a

liquid phase A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, ...

Overview

A typical sublimation apparatus separates a mix of appropriate solid materials in a vessel in which it applies heat under a controllable atmosphere (air,

vacuum A vacuum is a space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective ''vacuus'' for "vacant" or " void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressure. Physicists often di ...

or inert gas). If the material is not at first solid, then it may freeze under reduced

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

. Conditions are so chosen that the solid volatilizes and condenses as a purified compound on a cooled surface, leaving the non- volatile residual impurities or solid products behind. The form of the cooled surface often is a so-called

cold finger A cold finger is a piece of laboratory equipment that is used to generate a localized cold surface. It is named for its resemblance to a finger and is a type of cold trap. The device usually consists of a chamber that a coolant fluid (cold tap ...

which for very low-temperature sublimation may actually be cryogenically cooled. If the operation is a batch process, then the sublimed material can be collected from the cooled surface once heating ceases and the vacuum is released. Although this may be quite convenient for small quantities, adapting sublimation processes to large volume is generally not practical with the apparatus becoming extremely large and generally needing to be disassembled to recover products and remove residue. Among the advantages of applying the principle to certain materials are the comparatively low working temperatures, reduced exposure to gases such as oxygen that might harm certain products, and the ease with which it can be performed on extremely small quantities. The same apparatus may also be used for conventional distillation of extremely small quantities due to the very small volume and surface area between evaporating and condensing regions, although this is generally only useful if the cold finger can be cold enough to solidify the condensate.

Temperature gradient

More sophisticated variants of sublimation apparatus include those that apply a temperature gradient so as to allow for controlled recrystallization of different fractions along the cold surface.

Thermodynamic processes Classical thermodynamics considers three main kinds of thermodynamic process: (1) changes in a system, (2) cycles in a system, and (3) flow processes. (1)A Thermodynamic process is a process in which the thermodynamic state of a system is change ...

follow a statistical distribution, and suitably designed apparatus exploit this principle with a gradient that will yield different purities in particular temperature zones along the collection surface. Such techniques are especially helpful when the requirement is to refine or separate multiple products or impurities from the same mix of raw materials. It is necessary in particular when some of the required products have similar sublimation points or pressure curves.

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*{{Commonscat-inline Alchemical processes Laboratory glassware Separation processes Chemical equipment Phase transitions

Overview

Temperature gradient

See also

References

External links