SENSITIVE AND SELECTIVE DETECTORS FOR GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY BASED ON CATALYSED REDOX CHEMILUMINESCENCE

THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF NEW SELECTIVE AND SENSITIVE DETECTORS FOR GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY IS PROPOSED. THISINSTRUMENTATION WILL BE USED FOR THE DIRECT ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND FOR RAPID SCREENING FOR THE PRESENCE OF PARTICULAR CLASSES FO ORGANIC COMPOUNDS. THE DETECTORS ARE BASED ON METAL-CATALYZED OXIDATION/REDUCTION REACTIONS OF NO2 WITH ORGANIC REDUCING AGENTS. THE REDOX CHEMILUMINE- SCENCE DETECTOR (RCD), BASED ON A GOLD CATALYST, IS SELECTIVE TO REDUCING AGENTS SUCH AS ALDEHYDES, EPOXIDES, OLEFINS, PHENOLS, AND AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS, BUT DOES NOT RESPOND TO SATURATED HYDROCARBONS, WATER, AND THE MAJOR CONSTITUENTS OF AIR. THE USE OF OTHER NOBLE METALS AS CATALYSTS FOR REDOX REACTIONS INVOLVING NO2 AND SELECTED ANALYTES WILL BE STUDIED TO DETERMINE WHETHER NEW NEW SELECTIVE DETECTORS CAN BE DEVELOPED. GAS CHROMATORGRAPHY DETECTORS BASED ON THESE NEW CATALYSTS WILL BE EVALUATED TO DETERMINEDTHE LIMITES OF DETECTION, LINEARITY AND SELECTIVITY OF S SELECTED HAZARDOUS ORGANIC COMPOUNDS, WHICH ARE IMPORTANT POLLUTANTS IN AIR AND WATER. THESE NEW DETECTORS MAY SENSITIIVELY AND SELECTIVELY DETECT MANY HAZARDOUD COMPOUNDS OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPORTANCE, BUT NOT RESPOND TO OTHER, LESS IMPORTANT SPECIES, THUS PERMITTING DIRECT SCREENING OF CERTAIN COMPOUND CLASSES WITHOUT PRIOR FRACTIONATION TECHNIQUES, THUS ACHIEVING FASTER SAMPLE THROUGHPUT AND LOWER ANALYSIS COSTS.