Glovebox

Glovebox

Glovebox

Image: Steffen Hellmann

The glovebox can be used for sample preparation of redox or generally atmospheric gas-sensitive solid and liquid samples under an inert argon atmosphere. In particular, oxygen (O2) and water (H2O) free working is guaranteed by high-performance sensors in the low ppm range. Usually, the glovebox operates on carbon dioxide (CO2) free conditions. However, to carry out experiments with pre-set CO2 atmosphere concentrations it is possible to work at pre-set CO2 atmosphere in the glovebox.

Equipment

GS Inertgas Glovebox (GS GLOVEBOX Systemtechnik GmbH, Malsch, Deutschland)
Funded by the German Research Foundation (FKZ INST 275/441-1 FUGGExternal link).

  • The glovebox has a customised mobile table so that it can be easily transported to various laboratories. For example, an autosampler equipped with sensitive samples can be placed in the glovebox under inert conditions and coupled directly with instruments such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine metals, semi-metals in the trace and ultra-trace range directly from liquid samples without atmospheric contamination.
  • The glovebox has two sample airlocks to introduce contamination-free samples or equipment from the atmospheric area into the inert box. Using an oil-free vacuum pump, the atmospheric air is evacuated from the airlock and flooded afterwards using argon gas. This step can be repeated as required. The small airlock is a manual airlock with a valve for ‘evacuating’ and ‘flooding’. The large airlock has a customisable, automated airlock cycle with precisely programmable times and repeat units.
  • The usual operation-mode is set to “overpressure” (approx. +1 mbar), which ensures that no contamination can enter from outside. However, if working with hazardous substances, the operation-mode can be reversed to “underpressure” (usually -1 mbar) so that no hazardous substances enter the laboratory atmosphere. In this case, the ‘exhaust hose’ can be connected to a fume cupboard to ensure safe working conditions while operating the airlocks.
  • The glovebox is equipped with a zeolite-based molecular sieve to remove water and oxygen traces from the box. When working in a CO2 atmosphere, the molecular sieve must be switched off and a pure oxygen filter based on copper, aluminium and zinc oxide can be switched on.
  • Finally, the glovebox is furnished with particle filters (HEPA) and can also be set-up with special solvent filters (not in stock for our case) if halogenated, sulphur-containing, or organic solvents with triple bonds, such as nitriles, are to be used. Other (non-hazardous) organic solvents can be used in our glovebox.

How does the glovebox work?

The functionality, including the introduction and removal of samples, is explained by way of example in this video:

Contact

Steffen Hellmann