The purpose of the rotovap is to remove low boiling organic chemicals, usually solvents, from a mixture of compounds. The rotary evaporator is the method of choice for solvent removal in the modern organic laboratory. The solvents or low boiling compounds are removed by a simple distillation. The rotovap is designed to be operated under a vacuum (to lower a compound's boiling point) while heating the sample at the same time. A cold finger is used to condense the vapors to a liquid, which are trapped in a separate flask.
