Determination of Bromine Flame Retardants in Polymers by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

A study was performed to determine decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE209), decabromobiphenyl (BB209) and hexabromobenzene(HBB) in polymers by high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(HPLC-ICP-MS). Agilent TC-C-18 column(250 mmx4.6 mm, 5 mu m) was used with isopropanol/methanol/water (60: 30: 10, V/V) as mobile phase at flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. Samples were extracted with toluene, using ultrasonic-assisted extraction(UAE), and then precipitated by isooctane and methanol. Chromatographic separation and mass spectrometric conditions were optimized, and matrix effect of polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) and polyethylene (PE) were evaluated. The calibration curve was linear within the range from 0.25 mg/L to 10 mg/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999. The recoveries of addition standard were in the range of 75.9%-103.8%. The LOD (S/N = 3) and the LOQ (S/N = 10) were within the range of 0.097-0.1 mg/L and 0.243-0.250 mg/L. The matrix inhibitions of HBB, BB209 and BDE209 in PE, ABS and PS were 25%, 10% and 3%, respectively. The results proved that the method is simple, selective, specific and suitable for determination of bromine flame retardants in polymers.