Improved Safety during Transfer of Pyrophoric tert-Butyllithium from Flasks with Protective Seals

A simple setup has been devised to facilitate safer transfer of air-sensitive and pyrophoric reagents from Sure/Seal bottles in a fume hood setting. The setup is composed of three parts; a sealed transfer vial, a custom bottle cap for transfer vial alignment, and a metal clip. All of the needed parts are constructed from standard laboratory equipment and by 3D printing. Titration of tert-butyllithium was used as an example of safe transfer of a highly pyrophoric reagent, and an instructional video has been prepared.