Application of a microwave-induced plasma atomic emission detector for quantification of halogenated compounds by gas chromatography

Abstract

A series of halogenated and oxygenated heterocyclic, aromatic and aliphatic compounds were evaluated for elemental calibration with the atomic emission detector for gas chromatography (GC–AED). The GC–AED monitored C, Cl, F, N and O signals for these compounds and elemental response factors (ERF) were evaluated for compound independence. The variation in ERF for C, Cl, F, N and O were evaluated and found to be less than 3, 6, 5, 6 and 5% relative standard deviation (RSD), respectively, for all the compounds tested. Significant ERF compound dependence was identified for Cl in one of the compound groups and F in all compound groups. However, the ERF variation only increased from 5 to 6% RSD for Cl and from 2 to 5% RSD for F after including the compound dependent bias. Compound independent calibration can be utilized if these errors are acceptable for a particular application. The linearity of ERF with concentration and GC-AED reagent gas composition were also evaluated.