Phenylacetylene as a new surrogate standard for the determination of BTEX by GC/FID

Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (short form: BTEX) and other monoaromatic compounds are environmental contaminants which are often analyzed by GC/FID. For the calculation of BTEX concentrations in water samples normally external quantification with defined BTEX solutions is sufficient. However, for accurate quantification of BTEX in complex matrices it is necessary to use internal standards, e.g. 1-chlorohexane. Isotopes of BTEX are usually the best alternative but they are only applicable to GC/MS, because their retention times are similar to the original BTEX. 1-Chlorohexane and phenylacetylene were compared with respect to their quality as internal standards. Good results were obtained with the monoaromatic phenylacetylene as a surrogate standard. The physical properties of phenylacetylene are very similar to BTEX species and it normally does not occur in environmental samples. 1-Chlorohexane was more strongly adsorbed on the used soil than BTEX during sample preparation. This fact suggests that the single aromatic rings of BTEX and phenylacetylene are mainly responsible for the adsorption behavior.