From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

in chemistry, a chemical trap is a chemical compound that is used to detect a certain molecule when

• the concentration of this molecule is very small and below detection limit
• the molecule is very reactive and it not possible to isolate or detect it by spectroscopic means
• the molecule is an enantiomer present in a racemate.

With the reaction product of the chemical trap and the molecule in question it is possible to

• quantify the amount
• prove the existence of the molecule