Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Useful reference books in the lab

Diurea - 23-7-2019 at 13:16

I’d like to get everyone’s opinion on what books/manuals/catalogs do you find the most useful in the lab?

Which ones do you reference the most? And why?

Examples:
Merck index
sigma Aldrich catalog

Hoping to find some book with lots of indexed tables and properties of A-Z substances like, pressure temperature curves or something. Or just something I didn’t know about already.

[Edited on 23-7-2019 by Diurea]

RedDwarf - 23-7-2019 at 14:13

All time favorites would be Perry (Chemical Engineers' Handbook by Robert H. Perry (Author), Cecil H. Chilton (Author)) and CRC - mine are old versions which probably weren't even the most recent versions when I was at uni. Perry is more readable and has other useful stuff than just the tables. I also have an old copy of Vogel's "Macro and semi micro qualitative inorganic analysis" that I acquired recently, that I find very useful.

CharlieA - 23-7-2019 at 15:38

RedDwarf's favorites are good choices. I like Lange's "Handbook of Chemistry." I have the 15th edition. I also recommend a good college level laboratory manual, preferably for a General Chemistry lab, or an introductory Organic Chemistry course. These manuals are great for learning techniques, and a source of experiments to perform. If you are starting "from scratch", the best way to build up a lab is to start with the first experiment in the lab manual and get the materials to do that experiment; then the second, etc., and before you know it, you'll have a nice little laboratory.
In addition to the above, a good laboratory notebook kept according to accepted methods, is a must. I have yet to meet anyone with an infallible memory who can recall the minutest details about every experiment he has done.

Diurea - 24-7-2019 at 12:29

Thanks Guys, I will check those out. I've found a few sites that sell thrift books and I don't mind them being the previous version or a little dinged up. They read the same. It's amazing how cheap you can pick some of these up for used.

Hope to see some more people post ideas from their "most useful" book collection.

@RedDwarf - When you said Chemical Engineers Handbook I was like "I just bought that didnt I".. I just check.. Yep got it for 5.99. Not sure the version yet.

RedDwarf - 24-7-2019 at 13:41

Mine's the fifth edition (and has managed to survive more than 35 years of lack of care) and while there will have been changes I'm sure the newer versions have 99% of the same information. I'm also sure that I paid a lot more than 5-99 for it all that time ago!

DavidJR - 25-7-2019 at 12:00

Purification of Laboratory Chemicals (W.L.F. Armarego) is one that I find incredibly useful to have around.

nimgoldman - 31-7-2019 at 13:17

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
(though I use mostly Wikipedia these times)

Destruction of Hazardous Chemicals in the Laboratory
I used it several times, but it specializes mostly on dyes and pharmaceuticals.

Hazardous Laboratory Chemicals Disposal Guide
This is on my wish list... seems more general than the one above.

Other than that, I keep some tables around (apart from the periodic one) - like P-T nomograph, tables for solvent drying, boiling points of common solvents, ethanol/water vapour temperature/composition and so on. These can be mostly downloaded online and printed on A4.
Quote: Originally posted by DavidJR  
Purification of Laboratory Chemicals (W.L.F. Armarego) is one that I find incredibly useful to have around.


Yes!! This one is available in PDF somewhere, you can easily search the compound by CAS index. Some purification methods are too rigorous though for an amateur. Still very useful.

[Edited on 31-7-2019 by nimgoldman]

DavidJR - 1-8-2019 at 11:05

Quote: Originally posted by nimgoldman  

Other than that, I keep some tables around (apart from the periodic one) - like P-T nomograph, tables for solvent drying, boiling points of common solvents, ethanol/water vapour temperature/composition and so on. These can be mostly downloaded online and printed on A4.

I use a drying agent compatibility chart often

Corrosive Joeseph - 1-8-2019 at 14:50

Quote: Originally posted by nimgoldman  

Hazardous Laboratory Chemicals Disposal Guide
This is on my wish list...


Hazardous Laboratory Chemicals Disposal Guide - Margaret-Ann Armour

The latest version of a bestseller, Hazardous Laboratory Chemicals Disposal Guide, Third Edition includes individual entries for over 300 compounds. The extensive list of references has been updated and includes entries for 15 pesticides commonly used in greenhouses. Emphasis is placed on disposal methods that turn hazardous waste material into non-toxic products.
These methods fall into several categories, including acid/base neutralization, oxidation or reduction, and precipitation of toxic ions as insoluble solids. The text also provides data on hazardous reactions of chemicals, assisting laboratory managers in developing a plan of action for emergencies such as the spill of any of the chemicals listed.


/CJ

Attachment: Hazardous Laboratory Chemicals Disposal Guide.pdf (3.3MB)
This file has been downloaded 420 times

monolithic - 1-8-2019 at 15:05

Vogel's Practical Organic Chemistry
Armarego's Purification of Laboratory Chemicals
Lerner's Small-Scale Synthesis of Laboratory Reagents

Felis Corax - 2-8-2019 at 05:25

In case any of you don't know (or forgot!), Library Genesis is a great source for electronic copies of scientific manuals and references. Provided, of course, that you don't care about that whole "copyright" thing. :cool:

To answer the question: I use Purifying Laboratory Chemicals on occasion, and Perry's a little less often, but most of the time I get my data from *blush* wikipedia. Or PubChem, when wikipedia doesn't have what I'm after. Then again I'm not doing anything particularly advanced so 90% of what I look up is molar mass, solubility, density, pKa, and the likes.

Much Thanks

Diurea - 7-8-2019 at 02:31

Thanks all for the responses. Ill be looking into all of these. They are all good suggestions.