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Quantitative Detection of Trace Explosive Vapors by Programmed Temperature Desorption Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detector
Published on: July 25, 2014
Thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method to determine phthalate and organophosphate esters from
M Aragón1, F Borrull, R M Marcé
1Department of Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Marcel·lí Domingo s/n, Sescelades Campus, Tarragona 43007, Spain.
Abstract:
A method based on thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) has been developed to determine four organophosphate esters, seven phthalate esters, and bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate in the gas phase from harbour and urban air samples. The method involves the sampling of 1.5L of air in a Tenax TA sorbent tube followed by thermal desorption (using a Tenax TA cryogenic trap) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The repeatability of the method expressed as %RSD (n=3) is less than 15% and the MQLs are between 0.007μgm(-3) (DMP, TBP, BBP, TPP and DnOP) and 6.7μgm(-3) (DEHP). The method was successfully applied in two areas (urban and harbour) testing two and three points in each one, respectively. Some of these compounds were found in both urban and harbour samples. Di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate was the most abundant compound found in both areas at concentration levels between 6.7μgm(-3) and 136.4μgm(-3). This study demonstrates that thermal desorption is an efficient method for the determination of these semi-volatile compounds in the gas phase fraction of air samples.
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