What is cold trap?

A cold trap is a device used in laboratory settings to capture and condense evaporated gases such as solvents, preventing them from reaching and potentially contaminating vacuum pumps or other parts of the experimental setup. Cold traps are commonly used in vacuum distillation, sublimation, and other processes where volatile compounds need to be collected or removed.

Cold traps work by cooling a surface or coil with a coolant such as liquid nitrogen, dry ice, or a refrigerant. As the evaporated gases come into contact with the cold surface, they condense and are collected in a separate container. Cold traps can be as simple as a glass vessel filled with dry ice or liquid nitrogen, or they can be more complex and integrated into a vacuum system.

Cold traps are essential for maintaining vacuum conditions in many laboratory applications and are widely used in chemistry, physics, and other scientific fields. They help to protect sensitive equipment, prolong the life of vacuum pumps, and ensure the purity of the collected samples.