r/chemistry

I’m trying to understand what’s actually inside commercial glovebox purifier columns.

Everyone says “Pt catalyst” or “Cu catalyst,” but what are the real materials/products.

I’m interested because I’d like to build a DIY circulation/purification system for research use.

Would appreciate any teardown info, maintenance experience, patents, or references.

I am aware that the convention is that since water is used as a solvent, its molarity (being 55.5 M) vastly outweighs those of the other molecules present, so the concentration is essentially constant, and therefore due to this effect we substitute it with 1 to simplify the math

But I've seen some resources state that the self ionization of water has the equilibrium constant itself equal to the ionic product of water? Isn't that just wrong? I mean I assume that the value of 55.5 M is either negligible or irrelevant in this context, but is there any reason they present Kc as EQUAL to Kw? Just convenience?

Obviously, the body would cremate - but beyond that, what actually happens? I am writing about a fictional serial killer that disposes of his victims bodies in abandoned open-hearth furnaces, but my sources say that a special process is required to get rid of small bone fragments during cremation cause they cannot burn - does this remain true even at extraordinary temperatures, like 2000 Kelvin? If the bone fragments do remain in the industrial canals of these furnaces, how hard is it to recover forensic evidence from these fragments? Would there be anything other than bone, especially depending on how quickly he had to burn these bodies?

Research on this topic is obviously few and far between, cause funnily enough not many people want to think about this kind of thing...

I wanted to make little gifts and so far only made some PbI2 and enclosed it in test tubes. I was wondering if theres anything cool or pretty like golden rain that could be put in a vial aswell! Appreciate any ideas

Few of the chemicals that usually fall on my hand are ethanol, sometimes methanol, MPA (mercaptopropionic acid), MUA (Mercaptoundecanoic acid), chromic acid. I usually wash these off with soap. But idk what's causing it. Ig this is the correct sub to ask this question?

The kid racking his brain said, "Ah ah, I'm just trying to think of it. It is on the tip of my tongue."

The teacher said, "Oh God, that's terrible. Spit it out at once. It's sulfuric acid."

I owe my interest in physics to one of my college professors… but my love for chemistry? That is definitely thanks to “Organic Chemistry” guy on YouTube 😭 The nights I understood absolutely nothing in chemistry, he definitely helped me survive getting good grades :"") IYKYK

Hi everyone I just started working as a process engineering intern and I work in a chemistry lab with very harsh chemicals. I don’t have a chemical engineering background so I have only took a general chemistry lab which does not require very hard chemical analysis.

Anyways, I have accidentally dropped some drops of chemicals on my jeans while working and after washing them they start ripping at the stained spots. I was wondering if there is any brand of pants for chemical resistance. There isn’t any good ones on amazon and I tried levi’s pants like dickies material but they also ripped. Any recommendations?

Making a cloud chamber to show radiation to my students, but need the strongest possible thermal gradient. I can't easily get dry ice where I live or get LN2.
I know freezers can go down to -18C, and sprinkling NaCl on ice is endothermic and will cool that ice/water mixture down to -21C, but I'm sure there's ways to cool down even further without expensive or restricted chemicals. I'm aware ammonium nitrate is even better at this than salt but there's no way I am synthesizing ammonium nitrate at home.

Suggestions?

For chemists working in organic synthesis, how do you organize your lab notes?

Per the title, I've kind of put myself into a rut with my career. I wasn't the best with my undergrad courses (3.1/4.0, T10 public, USA) and I don't have a good relationship with my undergrad PI (worked with them for ~2 years). Since graduating in 2024, I've been constantly applying to jobs (organic chemistry related) and landing interviews, but it's been an absolute dumpster fire. While I do well on the technical portions of the interview and think I do well with the soft skills portion, I always come short when it comes to references. I have some professors who can attest to my knowledge (specifically professors whose grad courses I did exceptionally well in), but it's the research POV that I seem to be lacking in my recommendations.

It's been hard to know where to go from here. Part of me wishes that I had taken UG more seriously, but I also know that the mental health issues I had during UG made it infinitely more difficult to be as successful as I know I could have been. Since graduating, I've taken it upon myself to focus on taking care of my mental health and recently got diagnosed with a severe case of ADHD.

One option I've been considering is going back to school, specifically for an MS in Chemistry, mostly because I know for certain that I cannot get into a PhD program with my circumstances and how programs have been slashing spots. One of the many local universities in my area offers a thesis-based program that I'm interested in. My thought process here is that I can start from the ground up – by developing a good rapport with professors and my PI, and to show that I'm capable of succeeding in further studies in organic chemistry. This option may not be the cheapest, but it's something that I know can set me back on the path to where I want to be in my career. I'd argue that the investment in this would be worth it.

All things considered, I'm interested in hearing other people's perspectives – whether it's advice or hearing about similar situations. TIA!