List of Chemistry Laboratory Apparatus and Their Uses
List of Chemistry Laboratory Apparatus and Their Uses
List of Chemistry Laboratory Apparatus and Their Uses
Safety Gear
Safety Goggles: As the name suggests, safety goggles ensure the safety of your eyes. They are one
of the most important safety gear, as the eyes are the most vulnerable part of the human body.
Several chemicals like acids may cause a severe injury to eyesight, such as eye rash or a permanent
loss of vision.
Lab Coat: The lab coat is not only a general uniform of medical and chemical professionals but
has a very specified purpose to it. The knee-long coat ensures the safety of the body and clothing
from accidental spills and splashes of harmful chemicals. Moreover, in case of emergencies like fire
or contamination, a lab coat can be easily and quickly removed than the usual clothing.
Latex/Nitrile Gloves: Chemicals like acids are very reactive, and physical contact with such
chemicals can cause severe burns. Latex or nitrile gloves work as a barrier between human skin
and protect them from burns, infections, and contaminations caused by hazardous chemicals.
Beakers
Beakers are one of the most commonly used laboratory apparatus that one can come across in a
chemistry lab. They are cylindrical, have a flat bottom, and a small spout on the top to pour
chemicals. Beakers are usually made of borosilicate glass or plastic. While plastic beakers are only
used to mix the chemicals, glass beakers have high thermal stability and can be used to heat
chemicals also. Moreover, glass beakers provide more clarity for content visibility and
measurement than their plastic counterparts. Beakers come in several sizes with volumes ranging
from 5 milliliters to 10000 milliliters. Beakers are often used to hold, mix, and heat individual
chemicals or chemical mixtures.
Reagent Bottle
Reagent bottles, sometimes also referred to as media bottles, are specially designed containers
or vessels to hold chemicals in liquid or powder form. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and
are commonly constructed of glass or plastic. While most are clear glass vessels, some reagent
bottles are colored amber (actinic), brown, or red to protect light-sensitive chemical compounds
from visible light, ultraviolet, and infrared radiation.
Flasks
Flask is a category of glassware used in the chemistry lab. They come in a variety of shapes and
sizes, with each one having a specific purpose associated with it. Let’s take a look at few types of
flasks used in chemistry labs.
Erlenmeyer Flask
Erlenmeyer Flask, also known as a conical flask, is glassware comprising of conical body, flat
bottom, and a cylindrical neck. It is one of the most commonly used flasks to carry out various
experiments in the chemistry lab, such as titration, filtration, crystallization, etc. It was first
patented in 1860 by a German chemist, Emil Erlenmeyer. The slanting sides and wide base of an
Erlenmeyer flask make it a perfect conical vessel to mix the chemicals by swirling without any risk
of spillage. Additionally, the cylindrical neck of a conical flask can accommodate a glass stopper,
and it also provides support to fit funnels. Based on the application, an Erlenmeyer flask can either
be graduated or unmarked. Moreover, it can also be used for heating and boiling purposes.
Round Bottom Flask
As the name suggests, a round bottom flask is a piece of laboratory glassware with a spherical
bottom and a cylindrical neck. The round bottom of the flask provides a suitable surface area for
the equal distribution of heat around the vessel. Thus, it is often used in experiments that require
uniform heating or boiling of the chemical contents. Additionally, the cylindrical neck can support
funnels and accommodate glass stoppers. Round Bottom flasks are often used with other heating
apparatus such as sand bath, water bath, rotary evaporator, etc. It is widely used to carry out the
laboratory-scale synthesis of other chemicals; however, it does not provide mixing as good as
conical flask by swirling. A mechanical stirrer or glass rod comes in handy while mixing the
contents in a round bottom flask.
Volumetric Flask
A volumetric flask is one of the laboratory glassware primarily used to prepare solutions. It is
composed of a flat bottom conical-shaped bulb attached to an elongated neck with an engraved
ring that serves as a marking that indicates a specific volume. Because its mark specifies a precise
volume measurement, the flask is also known as a graduated flask or measuring flask. To prepare a
solution, place the solute in the volumetric flask and then add enough solvent to dissolve it. After
that, use a pipette or dropper to carefully add the solvent until the solution reaches the etched
marking. The marking indicates the required volume of the solution. It’s vital to note that
volumetric flasks are calibrated for a specific temperature indicated on the flask. Furthermore, the
flask has a number on it to determine the size of the suitable glass stopper. Volumetric flasks are
usually made of transparent borosilicate glass or plastic; nevertheless, amber-colored volumetric
flasks are employed in laboratories for the preparation of light-sensitive solutions.
Retort Flask
The retort flask is an oddly shaped airtight glassware with a curved neck. Although retort flasks
are no longer employed in current chemistry labs, they were employed by several famous chemists,
including Antoine Lavoisier and Jöns Berzelius, to carry out distillation processes. Today,
condensers have replaced retort flasks as a more convenient apparatus; nonetheless, retort flasks
are still commercially available and can be used for non-complex distillation.
Büchner Flask
The Büchner Flask is a chemistry lab glassware instrument that looks almost identical to the
Erlenmeyer flask but has thicker walls and a hose barb near the mouth. It is commonly used for
vacuum filtration or distillation of solutions. The Büchner flask’s thick wall makes it strong enough
to resist the pressure difference while maintaining a vacuum inside. It is named after its inventor,
Ernst Wilhelm Büchner, a German industrial chemist who is also known for the invention of
Büchner Funnel. Other names include vacuum flask, filter flask, suction flask, side-arm flask, and
Kitasato flask. When used with the Büchner Funnel, it allows for faster filtration under vacuum
than traditional methods.
Pear-Shaped Flask
As the name suggests, a pear-shaped flask is laboratory glassware with V-shaped bottom, like
an inverted pear. It is commonly used in organic chemistry for several heating purposes, such as
evaporating solutions to dryness post-synthesis using a rotary evaporator and removing
concentrated samples.
Kjeldahl Flask.
A Kjeldahl flask is a chemistry lab glassware that resembles a volumetric flask but has a circular
bottom instead of a conical one. This flask was designed in the 19th century by Johan Gustav
Christoffer Thorsager Kjeldahl, a notable Danish scientist, to assess the nitrogen concentration in
organic compounds using the Kjeldahl digestion, a procedure he also devised. During the digesting
stage, the flask’s extra-long neck works as an air condenser, reducing the entrapment of vapors .
Schlenk Flask
A schlenk flask is a type of laboratory glassware that is used to perform anaerobic reactions. It’s
a flask with a pear-shaped or spherical bottom and a sidearm near the neck that’s used to fill or
expel inert gases. Flushing the flask with inert gas is a typical method of changing the flask’s
environment. This is achieved by flushing the flask through its sidearm or with a wide bore needle
attached to a gas line. The contents of the flask exit the flask through the flask’s neck part. The
needle approach offers the advantage of being able to place the needle towards the bottom of the
flask to better flush out the flask’s environment.
Test Tube
In a chemistry lab, the test tube is one of the most widely used glassware apparatus. It is a
cylindrical vessel with a round bottom that is used to hold chemicals during the experiments. Due
to their high thermal stability, test tubes can be used to heat or boil chemical samples. While
heating, it’s essential to hold the test tube at a 45-degree angle so that the gases formed inside the
narrow tube may easily escape without causing the hot liquid to shoot up.
Boiling Tube
A boiling tube is a glassware apparatus that looks similar to a test tube, although it is 50% larger
in size. As the name indicates, boiling tubes are used to boil chemicals. Unlike test tubes, boiling
tubes are made of pyrex, a material with superior thermal stability that allows them to be heated to
far greater temperatures than borosilicate glass test tubes.
Centrifuge Tube
A centrifuge tube is a cylindrical vessel with a cap that is used in a centrifuge machine to
separate the components of solutions. The centrifuge tubes are small test tubes with curved tips
and can be made of glass or plastic. The tip’s design may vary depending on the types of solids,
biomolecules, and insoluble substances in the chemical sample.
NMR Tube
Thistle Tube.
A thistle tube, also known as a thistle funnel, is a piece of laboratory glassware with a long tube
shaft and a reservoir bulb with a flared rim on top. These funnels enable the precise placement of
small quantities of chemicals in an existing system or apparatus, making it easier to add new
materials to burets and narrow neck containers. Thistle tube funnels reduce the possibility of a
reaction occurring too quickly and gushing over.
Capillary Tube
A capillary tube is chemistry lab apparatus commonly used to calculate the melting point
temperature of chemical substances. It is a thin pipe that comes in different inner diameters
ranging from 0.5 mm to 3 mm and lengths ranging from 1mm to 6 mm. They are used to hold the
sample of the chemical substance, whose melting point is to be found, inside the melting point
apparatus or thiele tube.
Fusion Tube
A fusion tube is a laboratory tube that functions similarly to boiling tubes, though it is much
smaller and thinner. It is used to conduct experiments such as the sodium fusion test (Lassaigne’s
test) or determine the substance’s melting/boiling point by heating a small sample excessively.
Since fusion tubes are meant to be broken down after heating, they are made of thinner glass.
Thiele Tube
A Thiele tube is a piece of laboratory glassware used to determine the melting point of organic
compounds. It looks like a regular glass test tube attached to a V-shaped handle that forms a
triangle. The structure of the Thiele tube provides a convectional flow of heat around the triangular
region, which evenly and quickly distribute the heat from the flame throughout the heating oil. The
sample is submerged into the oil bath inside a capillary tube closed from one side and then
attaching the capillary tube to the thermometer with the help of an elastic band of excellent
thermal stability. The melting point is the temperature measured on the thermometer when the
sample begins to melt.
Test Tube holder
A test tube holder is a device used to hold test tubes while heating them. It provides a safe
distance between the person’s hand and the test tube, protecting the skin from accidental burns
caused by the spilling of chemicals.
A test tube rack is composed of one perforated sheet arranged over a plain sheet of plastic or
metal, which holds the test tubes in an upright position. Moreover, some test tube racks also come
with the space to hold the test tubes in a slanting position. They are specifically employed in
experiments that require the use of several test tubes or when a test tube must be stored
undisturbed for an extended period of time.
Centrifuge Machine
As the name suggests, a mechanical shaker is a laboratory device used to mix, blend, or stir
chemical compounds by shaking them. It contains an oscillating board that holds test tubes or
flasks filled with chemical compounds.
Magnetic Stirrer
A magnetic stirrer is a device that stirs chemical solutions by using electromagnetic force. A
magnetic stirring bar is inserted into the flask containing the solution, which is then placed over a
magnetic stirrer’s hot plate. The oscillating electromagnetic field created beneath the vessel drives
the rotatory motion of the stirring bar. This method of stirring is more efficient, rapid, and sanitary
than traditional stirring with a glass rod.
Filter Paper
A filter paper is a semi-permeable sheet of paper used in chemistry labs to separate solid
impurities or components from a liquid solution. They are often made of cellulose whose capillary
function comes in handy while separating fine solid impurities.
Funnel
A funnel is a cone-shaped device used to pour liquids from one vessel to another without the
risk of spillage. They are usually made of glass and plastic and comes in a variety of sizes that can
be used for any process that requires pouring chemicals solutions in flasks, test tubes, beakers, and
other vessels. They can also be used with filter paper to filter out impurities from the solution.
Filter Funnel
A filter funnel is a piece of laboratory glassware that is used to filter solid impurities from
chemical solutions. They are made up of a cone-shaped body coupled to a cylindrical tube with a
sieve in the middle. To increase the effectiveness of the filtration process, filter paper can also be
incorporated into the process.
Separatory Funnel
Dropping Funnel
Mortar and pestle are ancient tools used to crush and grind ingredients or substances into a
thin paste or powder. They are used in chemistry labs to grind chemical crystals or tablets into powder
or paste form.
Wash Bottle
The wash bottle is a regular plastic bottle attached to a nozzle with a screw-top lid, and it is used to
rinse various pieces of laboratory glassware, such as test tubes and round bottom flasks, after or before their
use.
Watch glass
A watch glass is a circular concave piece of glassware used in chemistry labs for a variety of applications.
These include a surface to evaporate a liquid, to hold solids while weighing, to heat a small amount of
substance, and as a beaker cover. This application is often employed to keep dust and other particles out of
the beaker; however, the watch glass does not entirely seal the beaker, allowing gas exchanges to occur.
Crucibles
A crucible is a ceramic or metal pot-like vessel used to melt metals and other solid
chemical compounds. They come in a range of shapes and sizes and are made of materials that
can endure intense temperatures. For instance, industrial-grade crucibles are made of materials
such as alumina, silicon carbide, quartz, or water-cooled copper, whereas laboratory-grade
crucibles are usually made of clay.
Tongs
Tongs are scissor-like tools used to grip and lift objects and avoid the risk of getting
burnt. They are used to hold crucible after heating, transferring evaporating dishes, or picking
small objects out of a reaction container.
Ring stands
Liebig Condenser
A Liebig condenser is used to cool and condense a gas to a liquid, which is commonly
done as part of the chemical distillation process. The condensing column is made up of a
straight glass tube, through which the gas flows, surrounded by a water jacket that aids in the
cooling of the gas. This condenser is named after the German chemist Justus Baron von Liebig.
Graham Condenser
A graham condenser is a device that is very similar to a Liebig condenser, except that
it contains a spiral coil that surrounds the inner tube through which the vapors flow.
The spiral structure provides more surface area to serve as a vapor-liquid condensate path.
Although the Graham condenser can be used in a variety of distillation configurations, it is advised
to use it in conjunction with a Kjeldahl distillation bulb to enhance distillation efficiency.
Dewar Condenser
A Dewar condenser is an apparatus that rapidly cools volatile solvents with low-
boiling-point, e.g., chloroform, diethylamine, and methylene chloride. Dewar
condensers have a big opening on the top that makes it easier to add coolant combinations such as
dry ice, liquid nitrogen, and acetone. Dewar condensers are often made of borosilicate glass, which
has a stronger thermal shock resistance than normal glass and an extremely high chemical
resistance. Dewar condensers also have a bottom inner joint and a hose connection for connecting
to flexible tubing.
Soxhlet Apparatus
The Soxhlet apparatus is a piece of laboratory equipment used to extract lipids and
other desired chemical compounds from solid materials. The apparatus is made up of
various pieces, each of which serves a specific purpose in the extraction process. Depending on the
chemical nature (e.g. polarity) of the solid sample, a suitable solvent is placed in a round bottom
flask, which is subsequently heated to transform the solvent into vapor form. The sample solid is
placed inside the soxhlet thimble, which is placed inside the soxhlet extraction chamber. The
soxhlet extraction chamber is the main part of the soxhlet apparatus and it is placed in between the
round bottom flask and the reflux condenser. The vaporized solvent rises from the round bottom
flask, travels through the vapor tube of the soxhlet extraction chamber, and enters the reflux
condenser. Inside the reflux condenser, the vapors liquefy and fall on the thimble containing the
solid sample. The liquid solvent then penetrates the solid sample and extracts the lipid while
returning to the round bottom flask via the siphoning tube. This procedure is repeated until the
desired compound has been extracted from the sample. This method of lipid extraction has the
added benefit of allowing the solvent to be reused while the extraction is being performed. Food
testing, biofuels, and environmental studies are some of the practical applications of soxhlet
extraction.
Chromatography Column
Chromatography refers to a collection of laboratory techniques used to separate
mixtures. It entails passing a dissolved mixture through a stationary phase, which
separates the analyte to be measured from other molecules in the mixture based on
differential partitioning between the mobile and stationary phases. Column
chromatography is a method of purifying chemicals based on their polarity or hydrophobicity. A
mixture of molecules is separated in column chromatography based on their differential
partitioning between a mobile phase and a stationary phase. The equipment used in this process is
known as the chromatography column. It is a long cylindrical tube of glass with a tap at the end of
it. The base of the tube is filled with a cotton or glass wool plug, or glass frit to hold the solid phase
in place.
Gas Syringe
Pasture Pipette
Graduated Pipette
Volumetric Pipette
A volumetric pipette is a device that has been calibrated to transfer a very specific
volume of liquid from one container to other. Unlike graduated pipets, volumetric pipets
do not have any scale markings engraved on them; however, they do have a ring mark near the top
and a bulb expansion in the middle, on which the volume from tip to the ring is usually inscribed.
Burette
A burette is a long cylindrical tube with a tap at the bottom, and it is usually mounted
on a stand with the help of the clamps. This apparatus is widely used to provide a controlled
flow of reagents during their volumetric analysis or titration. Burette has a volume scale engraved
along its side which provides the volume readings for normality equations.
Spatulas
A spatula is a tool used to carry, mix, or spread solid or paste materials in the
chemistry lab. They come in various shapes and sizes and are usually made of
stainless steel. They are resistant to deterioration from contact with boiling water, acids, bases,
and most solvents. For easier handling, some of them have a polyvinyl chloride plastic handle or a
fixed hardwood grip.
Laboratory Thermometer
A Bunsen burner is a type of gas burner designed to provide a single flame with the desired
intensity. The barrel or chimney of the burner is mounted on a flat base that contains a hose barb, a gas
valve, and an air window. Bunsen burners usually operate on natural gas (mostly methane) or liquefied
petroleum gas.
Tripod
A laboratory tripod is a three-legged platform that is used to support vessels while they are
being heated on a bunsen burner. It is made of light metals such as stainless steel or aluminum and is
designed to be light and easy to carry.
Wire Mesh
Wire mesh, also known as wire gauze, is a metal wire interwoven sheet that sits between the
beaker and the tripod stand. Because glassware cannot be heated directly, a wire mesh is utilized to
diffuse the heat from the flames. An asbestos ceramic layer is commonly included in the center of wire mesh
for its heat-resistant qualities.
Evaporating dish
Evaporating dish, also known as a china dish, is a bowl-like apparatus that resembles a
crucible but is used to evaporate liquid substances. It’s utilized in those experiments where one
needs to eliminate surplus solvent to get a concentrated solution or a solid precipitate of the dissolved
component. Evaporating dishes are typically made of porcelain, and they can range in volume from 3 mL to
10 mL.
Petri dish
A petri dish is a shallow, transparent cylindrical tube used to carry out biochemical
reactions in general. It’s typically composed of heat-resistant borosilicate glass and comes with
a lid to keep the sample safe from contamination.
Water Bath
Kipp’s Apparatus
Kipp’s Apparatus, also known as Kipp’s generator, is a device used in the chemistry
lab to prepare gases such as hydrogen sulfide gas, carbon dioxide gas, and hydrogen
gas. It was invented around 1844 by the Dutch pharmacist, Petrus Jacobus Kipp. The device is
usually made of glass or polyethylene and consists of three chambers that are layered one on top of
the other. The liquid reagent is poured via the top chamber, which is connected to the bottom
chamber through a tube that runs through the middle chamber. When the bottom chamber is
completely filled, the middle chamber’s stopcock is opened for a brief moment to expel the air. The
liquid reagent then rises to the middle chamber and reacts with the solid reagent to produce the
necessary gas, which can then be drawn off through the stopcock.
Melting Point Apparatus
A melting point apparatus is a device used to determine the melting point of the
chemical compounds. The above-discussed thiele tube is one of the melting point apparatus.
Other types may include the Fischer-Jhon apparatus, Gallenkamp (Electronic) melting-point
apparatus, and automatic melting-point apparatus. Unlike the thiele tube, these apparatus do not
require oil or any other chemical to determine the melting point of the given substance, instead,
the sample is placed directly inside the apparatus with the help of a capillary tube.
A digital balance is a device used to measure the weight of chemical reagents in the
chemistry lab. They are highly sensitive and can even weigh 0.001 gm of a substance. For this
reason, they are periodically calibrated and usually kept inside glass walls. When weighing the
substances, the walls should be kept close to reduce any error in the measurement.
Analytical balances are highly sensitive lab instruments designed to accurately measure
mass. Their readability has a range between 0.1mg - 0.01mg. Analytical balances have a draft shield or
weighing chamber to prevent the very small samples from being affected by air currents
Digital Colorimeter