PNNL

Abstract

A novel method for the evaluation of gas chromatographic (GC) column inertness has been developed using a tandem GC approach. Typically column inertness is measured by analyte peak shape evaluation. In general, silica, glass, and metal surfaces are chemically reactive and can cause analyte adsorption, which typically is observed as chromatographic peak tailing. Adsorption processes produce broad, short chromatographic peaks that confound peak area determinations because a significant portion can reside in the noise. In addition, chromatographic surfaces and stationary phases can irreversibly adsorb certain analytes without obvious degradation of peak shape. The inertness measurements described in this work specifically determine the degree of irreversible adsorption behavior of specific target compounds at levels ranging from approximately 50 picograms to 1 nanogram on selected gas chromatographic columns. Chromatographic columns with 5% phenylmethylsiloxane, polyethylene glycol (wax), trifluoropropylsiloxane, and 78% cyanopropylsiloxane stationary phases were evaluated with a variety of phosphorus- and sulfur- containing compounds selected as test compounds due to their ease of adsorption and importance in trace analytical detection. In addition, the method was shown effective for characterizing column bleed.