Modified Siwoloboff–Wiegand Procedure for the Determination of Boiling Points on a Microscale

Abstract

Developing simpler, more accessible, and more affordable methods for the determination of the boiling point of microscale amounts of liquid may lead to increased utilization in research and teaching laboratories as an analytical technique. Our efforts toward that goal have revealed that digital hot plates can be used as the heat source. One option is to simply use a test tube and a digital thermometer, requiring 300 μL of liquid that accurately determines boiling points that range from 35 to 150 °C. An alternative method, requiring as little as 30 μL of liquid, utilizes a modified aluminum block and a temperature control probe coupled to the digital hot plate that results in the accurate determination of boiling points that range from 35 to 205 °C. Both modifications to the Siwoloboff–Wiegand method provide consistent, reliable, and accurate boiling points for a variety of liquids with a wide range of boiling points.