Priestley Lab Virtual Tour

Welcome to the Joseph Priestley Laboratory!This is where you will do all of your synthetic chemistry as well as analytical components, in a lab designed to give you the opportunity to perform practical work in an industry-standard environment.

Welcome to the Joseph Priestley Laboratory!This is where you will do all of your synthetic chemistry as well as analytical components, in a lab designed to give you the opportunity to perform practical work in an industry-standard environment.

STUDENT WORKBAYS

Fume Cupboard

Link to University of Leeds website

Jump to Stores ...

Jump to East Wing ...

Map View

Click to watch a video walkthrough

CENTRAL AREA

WORKBAY A

WORKBAY B

Map View

General Reagents Cupboard

Map View

Fume CupboardPriestley lab has a total of 64 fume cupboards. Students are assigned a fume cupboard, shared with another student, at the start of the academic year where they will do all their practical work.

- needle valves- manometer

Heater/ Stirrer

Cold Water Taps

Mercury Manometer This indicates the strength of the vacuum from the vacuum lines; the lower the value, the better the vacuum

Nitrogen Lines

Vacuum Line

Dials There are several dials below the fume cupboard, controlling taps for water, gas, nitrogen, and the vacuum system

Mercury ManometersIn each fume cupboard the level of vacuum is read off of a mercury manometer, measured in milimeters of mercury (mmHg) - the lower the mercury drops in the manometer, the higher the strngth of the vacuum. The vacuum pump must first be switched on (you will hear the pump starting), and the vaccuum line taps switched to the correct positions to allow air through, or to block air off.

WATCH AS THE LEVEL OF MERCURY DROPS IN THE MANOMETER - THE STRENGTH OF THE VACUUM IS MEASURED IN mmHG AS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE POOL AT THE BASE, AND THE LEVEL OF MERCURY IN THE MANOMETER

VACUUM PUMP SWITCHES ARE LABELLED ON THE FRONT OF EACH FUME CUPBAORD

* THE LOWER THE LEVEL OF MERCURY, THE HIGHER THE STRENGTH OF VACUUM

Nitrogen ValvesAlong the bottom of each fume cupboard are a set of dials, the larger white plastic dial labelled N2 controls the nitrogen input to the nitrogen lines.First, the clip at the back of the dial must be turned from the "Off" position to the "On" position, and once this is on, the nitrogen input can be controlled by turning the main body of this dial - watch as the bubbles show in the tank in the fume cupboard.Note: more bubbles does not mean more nitrogen!Bubbles appear when N2 is in excess, therefore more bubbles indicate more N2 is being wasted!

N2 CONTROL VALVE

WHEN BLUE CLIP POINTS UP, N2 SUPPLY IS ON

WATCH HOW THE BUBBLER CHANGES AS THE DIAL IS TURNED

add close up of dial and bubbler

ON

OFF

General Reagants Cupboard Each bay has its own general reagants cupboard, containing:

• Anti-bumping granules
• Acetic Acid
• Ammonium Chloride
• Brine
• Calcium Chloride
• Celite
• Charcoal
• Hydrochloric Acid
• Iodine
• Magnesium Sulphate
• Phosphoric Acid
• Potassium Carbonate
• Sand
• Silica Gel
• Sodium Acetate
• Sodium Borohydride
• Sodium Bicarbonate
• Sodium Carbonate
• Sodium Chloride
• Sodium Hydroxide
• Sulphuric Acid

STORES

SILICA WASTE

West Wing Analytical ToolsPriestley lab is equipped with several analytcial tools, including magnetic susceptibility balances, a UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, and Infrared Spectroscopy Meters

Infrared Spectrometer There are 3 IR machines in the lab, used to help identify samples based on their apparent absorption and transmission of infrared radiation.

Magnetic Susceptibility Meters There are 2 magnetic susceptibility meters in the lab, used for measuring the degree of magnetization of a sample in response to an applied magnetic field.

UV Spectrophotometer There is one UV-Vis in the lab, which collects results in the visible light range, with its own built-in printer

West Wing Analytical Tools

West Wing Analytical Tools

Infrared Spectrometer

Infrared Spectrometer After the correct background checks done and the sample scanned, the IR spectra of the sample will be displayed on the monitor, and a hard copy easily printed off

Infrared Spectrometer

• First, clean the IR diamond with DCM and tissue
• Select "BACKGROUND SINGLE CHANNEL" - this will run 16 background scans
• Select "SAMPLE SINGLE CHANNEL" - this will scan your sample 16 times
• Your spectra will be displayed on the screen - you can rescale it by selecting "SHOW EVERYTHING"
• Select "PEAK PICKING"
• Select "SEARCH LIBRARY"
• Select "QUICK PRINT"

BACKGROUND

SAMPLE

PLACE SAMPLE HERE

PEAK PICKING

QUICK PRINT

SEARCH LIBRARY

Student Workbay B

Priestley lab can hold a maximum capacity of 120 students at one time! Students are allocated a fume cupboard to do all their practical work in, as well as benchtop space, and their own drawer of glassware

UV Box

Sink Area

Sharps Bins Small bins are for contaminated sharps waste, this includes:

• Used syringe needles (not the actual syringe!)

Melting Point Apparatus

Orange Bins Orange bins are used for "Offensive Waste", this includes:

• Used gloves
• Tissue roll
• Used Filter paper

Blue Bins Blue bins are used for glass waste, this includes:

• Pipettes
• Broken glassware

Solvent Cupboards Here you will find the common solvents you require for lab work. If any become empty, return them to the lab stores to replace with a full one.

Sink Areas

Washing up Liquid and Handwash

Paper Tissues

Acetone Wash Bottle

Non-Halogenated Waste

Emergency Eye Wash

Under the sink you will find spares for:

• Paper towels
• White roll
• Tea Towels
• Washing up Liquid
• Handwash
• Bleach Powder

You can help yourself to spares if you run out of anything

Student Workbay A

Priestley lab can hold a maximum capacity of 120 students at one time! Students are allocated a fume cupboard to do all their practical work in, as well as benchtop space, and their own drawer of glassware

RotaVap

Student Drawers

Supplies Trays

Solvent Cupboards

Rotavap and Chiller

Water Bath You can change the temperature of the water bath using the buttons or dial

Chiller

RotaVap Attach your flask here and monitor as solvent is evaporated, you can change the speed of rotation on the dial above

Evaporated solvent will condense here

Blue Boxes

Click here to watch a tutorial of how to use the Rotavap

Rotavap Tutorial

A step-by-step guide to using the Rotavap

• Attach the flask to the rotavap; ensure the vacuum is holding the flask on before you let go or you may lose your product!

• On the monitor, select "SETUP" and ensure the Torr is set to 24 T

• Select "RUN" to start the vacuum

• The Rotavap will stop automatically when all the solvent has evaporated, alternatively you can stop the Rotavap at any time by selecting "STOP"

• To remove the flask carefully release the vaccuum by opening the tap, then slowly pull your flask from the Rotavap

TAP

ROTATION DIAL

ATTACH FL ASK HERE

RUN

STOP

SETUP

Blue BoxesOn each workbench are a number of blue boxes containing additional equipment you may need for your experiments. This includes:

• Clamps
• Bosses
• Retort Rings
• Cork Rings
• Water tubing
• Deionised water bottles
• Ice bowls

Supplies Trays

Sample Tubes

Overnight Forms

Gloves In a range of sizes

Sample Tube Labels and Pipette teats

HPLC vials and lids

Suba Seals

TLC Plates

Stationary

Aluminium foil

Pasteur Pipettes

Sample Tube Lids

Student Drawers

Student Glassware Drawers Students in 2nd and 3rd Year are assigned their own set of drawers, complete with all the glassware they will need for their experiements for the year. It is the students responsibility to keep their drawers tidy and glassware clean to ensure their reactions have no impurities!

West Wing - Central

ANALYTICAL TOOLS

STUDENT WORKBAYS

- ice bowls- balance bubble?

Supplies Cupboard

Ice Machine

Reagent Fridges and Freezers

Overnight Fume cupboard At Level 3, it may be necessary to leave some experiments running overnight. This is the only fume cupboard allocated for overnight reactions

Analytical Balances These balances may be used to weigh samples to 4 decimal places

Silica Waste Cupboard

Here is where you should leave any azide waste and silica columns from column chromatography after they have been ran - leave the columns with the tap open for technicians to empty and clean

Sodium Azide Waste Sodium Azide waste can only be disposed of by a technician. Leave any contaminated glassware or sample tubes in this fume cupboard for a technician to dispose of

Aqueous Metal Waste

Used TLC Plates

Silica Waste Silica dust (for flash chromatography) can only be disposed of by a technician. Please leave any chromatography columns in the silica waste fume cupboard with the taps open

Find out more about LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework)

Supplies CupboardIn the central area of each wing is a cupboard containg supplies to refill the window trays with, and additional pieces of equipment:

• Heating mantles

• Samples Tubes and Lids
• Pasteur Pipettes
• Syringe Neeedles (in a range of sizes)
• Syringes (in a range of sizes)
• Gloves (small, medium, large)
• Long pipettes
• Gravity Filter Paper
• HPLC Vials and Lids
• Cotton Wool
• DrySyn Blocks (in a range of sizes)
• Retort Rings
• Water Vacuum Pumps
• Microbunsen Burners

Priestley Laboratory StoresThis is where you will find the technical team! You can come to stores if you need to replace broken or lost glassware, help with using analytical instruments, equipment, or help with the experiment you are doing. This is also where you will submit your samples for NMR and HPLC, and can replace any empty general reagent or solvent bottles.

WEST WING

EAST WING

Who's who?The lab coats worn in Priestley lab are colour-coded for health and safety reasons. Each student recieves their own white lab coat at the start of the year, along with their own name badge to wear on the front of their lab coat.

East Wing - Aisle

ANALYTICAL TOOLS

STUDENT WORKBAYS

STORES

Supplies Cupboard

Deionised Water Tank

East Wing - Aisle

WASTE DISPOSAL

WORKBAY A

WORKBAY B

Map View

Link to University of Leeds website

Jump to Stores ...

Jump to West Wing ...

GAS CHROMATOGRAPH

East Wing Analytical ToolsPriestley lab is equipped with several analytcial tools, including magnetic susceptibility balances, a UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, and Infrared Spectroscopy Meters

Printer This is where IR Spectra is printed, for all IR machines

Infrared Spectrometer There are 3 IR machines in the lab, used to help identify samples based on their apparent absorption and transmission of infrared radiation.

Light Microscope This low-power microscope may be used to view your samples to a higher magnification

Bunsen Burner Students in Priestley lab will learn basic glasswork, including using this bunsen burner for making TLC applicators and Melting Point Tubes

Microscope TutorialThe sample viewd under the microscope is Acetyl Ferrocene, made in Priestley Lab by one of our 3rd year students

Bunsen Burners

- videos for tlc, mpt

Bunsen Burner Use this bunsen burner for making TLC applicators and Melting Point Tubes Caution: Remove gloves before using the bunsen burner

Staff use only This bunsen burner is NOT for student use

Click here to watch a tutorial for making TLC applicators

Bunsen Burners

- videos for tlc, mpt

Making TLC Applicators Tutorial

• Take a capillary tube and hold it lengthways over the flame, aiming to hold it centrally over the "inner blue cone" in the flame

• Rotate the tube between your thumb and forefinger to evenly melt the glass

• The glass will melt within 10 seconds, once the middle is melted lift the tube up from the flame in a smooth motion and stretch out

A step-by-step guide to making TLC Applicators

CAUTION: Before using the Bunsen Burner, remove gloves, make sure long hair is tied back, and sleeves are out of the way of the flame!To light the burner, turn the gas tap anti-clockwise, and light using the flint-lighterWhen you are finished using the burner make sure the gas is turned off and the flame is outClick Here to watch again from a side angle

THIS IS THE HOTTEST PART OF THE FLAME

- videos for tlc, mpt

Gas Chromotography

Gas Chromatography Priestley Lab has its own GC, a sophisticated analytical instrument used to separate and identify the components of a submitted sample in the form of a gas over a 30m long internal copper wire.

Supplies CupboardIn the central area of each wing is a cupboard containg supplies to refill the window trays with, and additional pieces of equipment:

• Heating mantles

• Samples Tubes and Lids
• Pasteur Pipettes
• Syringe Neeedles (in a range of sizes)
• Syringes (in a range of sizes)
• Gloves (small, medium, large)
• Long pipettes
• Gravity Filter Paper
• HPLC Vials and Lids
• Cotton Wool
• DrySyn Blocks (in a range of sizes)
• Retort Rings
• Water Vacuum Pumps
• Microbunsen Burners

Deionised Water TankThis is where you can fill up the deionised water bottles (white cap) found in the blue boxes. Water is dispensed from the tap at the base over the sink

Student Workbay B

Priestley lab can hold a maximum capacity of 120 students at one time! Students are allocated a fume cupboard to do all their practical work in, as well as benchtop space, and their own drawer of glassware

UV Box

Sink Area

Sharps Bins Small bins are for contaminated sharps waste, this includes:

• Used syringe needles (not the actual syringe!)

Melting Point Apparatus

Orange Bins Orange bins are used for "Offensive Waste", this includes:

• Used gloves
• Tissue roll
• Used Filter paper

Blue Bins Blue bins are used for glass waste, this includes:

• Pipettes
• Broken glassware

Student Workbay A

Priestley lab can hold a maximum capacity of 120 students at one time! Students are allocated a fume cupboard to do all their practical work in, as well as benchtop space, and their own drawer of glassware

RotaVap

Student Drawers

Supplies Trays

Solvent Cupboards

Waste Disposal

Solvent Waste DisposalHalogenated and Non-halogenated waste must be disposed of seperately; there are two seperate drums at the end of EACH wing for solvent waste. If these are full, report it to the technical staff.

Halogenated Waste Solvent

Non-Halogenated Waste Solvent