Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Quantitative Detection of Trace Explosive Vapors by Programmed Temperature Desorption Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detector
Published on: July 25, 2014
Development and validation of a sensitive thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) method
Y Juillet1, C Dubois, F Bintein
1Analytical Chemistry Department, DGA CBRN Defence, 5 rue Lavoisier BP no. 3, 91710, Vert-Le-Petit, France, yannick.juillet@intradef.gouv.fr.
Abstract:
A new rapid, sensitive and reliable method was developed for the determination of phosgene in air samples using thermal desorption (TD) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The method is based on a fast (10 min) active sampling of only 1 L of air onto a Tenax® GR tube doped with 0.5 mL of derivatizing mixture containing dimercaptotoluene and triethylamine in hexane solution. Validation of the TD-GC-MS method showed a low limit of detection (40 ppbv), acceptable repeatability, intermediate fidelity (relative standard deviation within 12 %) and excellent accuracy (>95%). Linearity was demonstrated for two concentration ranges (0.04 to 2.5 ppmv and 2.5 to 10 ppmv) owing to variation of derivatization recovery between low and high concentration levels. Due to its simple on-site implementation and its close similarity with recommended operating procedure (ROP) for chemical warfare agents vapour sampling, the method is particularly useful in the process of verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
More Related Videos
05:31Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Paired with Total Vaporization Solid-Phase Microextraction as a Forensic Tool
Published on: May 25, 2021
05:22Rapid Collection of Floral Fragrance Volatiles using a Headspace Volatile Collection Technique for GC-MS Thermal Desorption Sampling
Published on: December 10, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Gas Chromatography: Types of Detectors-II
Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS)
A gas chromatograph consists of a long, narrow capillary column with a polysiloxane coating on the inner wall....
Gas Chromatography: Introduction
In GC, a sample is vaporized and mixed with an inert carrier gas (the mobile phase), which transports it through a...
Gas Chromatography: Overview of Detectors
A non-destructive detector allows a sample to be analyzed without altering or consuming it, meaning the sample can be collected after detection for further analysis. Examples include thermal conductivity detectors and...
Gas Chromatography: Types of Detectors-I
TCD is the earliest and most widely used detector that operates by measuring the changes in the thermal conductivity of the carrier gas. When a sample compound enters the detector,...
Gas Chromatography: Sample Injection Systems
Two primary injection methods are used...