Development of a Purity Certified Reference Material for Vinyl Acetate

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Chemical Metrology

Background:

• Vinyl acetate is a restricted food additive, necessitating accurate purity assessment.
• Quantifying organic impurities in vinyl acetate presents challenges due to its chemical properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish an improved method for determining three specific organic impurities in vinyl acetate.
• To calibrate gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) for vinyl acetate purity analysis.
• To certify a vinyl acetate reference material.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the mass balance method for overall vinyl acetate purity determination.
• Employed gas chromatography tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) for impurity identification.
• Measured content and relative correction factors for identified impurities: methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, and vinyl propionate.

Main Results:

• Achieved a vinyl acetate purity of 99.90% with an expanded uncertainty of 0.30%.
• Determined the total organic impurity content to be 0.08%.
• Established a relative correction factor of 1.23% for the impurities.

Conclusions:

• The developed method enables accurate quantification of trace organic impurities in vinyl acetate.
• The certified vinyl acetate reference material (GBW(E)062710) supports reliable analytical measurements.
• This work addresses critical needs for quality control of vinyl acetate in regulated applications.