The conductimetric determination of microgram amounts of phosphine in air

Abstract

A conductance cell is proposed as a sensitive means of detecting and determining phosphine in air at the part-per-million level. The contaminated air is passed through mercuric chloride solution in the cell, where reaction occurs between the phosphine and the mercuric chloride, liberating hydrogen chloride. This causes a rise in conductance proportional to the amount of hydrogen chloride, and hence to the amount of phosphine.

Suggestions are made for the determination of phosphine in discrete samples of air, and for the continuous monitoring of contaminated air.