ELEMENT-SELECTIVE ATOMIC EMISSION DETECTION FOR CAPILLARY GC OF METAL-CONTAINING COMPOUNDS

Element-selective GC detection by microwave-induced plasma atomic emission spectroscopy has been used to examine a wide variety of compounds containing metals, non-metals, and metalloids. "Recipes", or new selective detection schemes for use with the software of the computer-controlled system, have been developed for the selective detection of boron, aluminum, gallium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, rhenium, palladium, and platinum. Figures of merit including limits of detection, linear dynamic range, and spectral selectivity over carbon have been established for most of these elements. Gas chromatography - atomic emission detection (GC-AED) has been applied to the selective detection of vanadium, nickel, and iron in metalloporphyrins present in crude oil, manganese-selective detection of methylcyclopentadienylmanganese tricarbonyl (MMT) in gasoline, and titanium-selective detection of reaction mixtures containing titanium catalysts or titanium boride molecular precursors.