Chemistry

Department

CHM4722
Assignment topic
GLC Detectors
Instructor: Mam Fatima Jabbar

Group-5 Members
 Usman Ghani-62 Mehtab Shah-79 Section: CF3-17
Mudassir Shabbir-73 Zohaib Hassan-82 Submission Date: 8th Dec
Faseeh Ullah-70 Kamran Shoukat-90 Due Date: 8th Dec
Talha Fareed-75 Muhammad Tariq-30
Babar Ali-49 Bashir Ahmad-31
Altaf Ilyas-15

Detectors in Gas-Liquid Chromatography

D
etectors are instruments used in the final detection of an analyte. Numerous Detectors have been investigated and
used with gas chromatographic separations. Here are characteristics that are most desirable in a gas
chromatographic detector and then the most widely used devices are described. In
some cases, gas chromatographs are coupled to spectroscopic instruments such as mass and infrared
spectrometers. These hyphenated devices help to identify the analytes.
Feature of an Ideal Detector:
 Good stability and reproducibility.
 Adequate sensitivity. The sensitivities of present-day detectors lie in the range of 1028 to 10215 g
solute/s.
 A linear response to solutes that extends over several orders of magnitude.
 A temperature range from room temperature to at least 400°c.
 A short response time independent of flow rate.
 High reliability and ease of use. The detector should be foolproof in the hands of inexperienced
operators, if possible.
 The similarity in response toward all solutes or an alternatively a highly predictable and selective
response toward one or more classes of solutes.
 The detector should be nondestructive

Types of Detectors Detectable Compound Minimum

Detectable
Amount
Thermal Conductivity All compounds except for carrier gas
TCD 10 ppm (10 ng)
Detector
Flame Ionization Detector FID Organic compounds 0.1 ppm (0.1 ng)
Barrier Discharge Ionization All compounds except for He and Ne
Universal BID 0.07 ppm (0.07 ng)
Detector
Detector
10 ppm (10 ng) in Scan
mode
Mass Spectrometer MS Ionized molecule 0.5 ppm (0.5 ng) in
SIM mode
10 ppb (10 pg) in
MRM mode
Electron Capture Detector Organic Halogen compounds Organic
ECD 0.01 ppb (0.01 pg)
mercury compounds

Sulfur compounds Organic

Flame Photometric Detector phosphorus compounds
Selective FPD 10 ppb (10 pg)
Organic tin compounds
High-
sensitivity
Organic phosphorus compounds
Detector Flame Thermionic Detector 0.1 ppb
FTD (NPD) Organic nitrogen compounds
(0.1 pg) 1
ppb (1 pg)
Sulfur Chemiluminescence
Detector SCD Sulfur compounds 1 ppb (1 pg)
Thermal Conductivity Detectors (TCD)
TCD detects using the difference of thermal conductivity between the sample and carrier gas. Generally,
He is used as a carrier gas. However, He has a high thermal conductivity constant number. When the target
compound is, He and H2, N2 or Ar is used as a carrier gas. All compounds have each unique thermal
conductivity constant as shown below.
Compounds Thermal Conductivity Constant (10-6 cal/s∙cm∙˚C)
He 408
H2 547 (Very High)
N2 73
Ar 52
O2 76
H2O 60

When the thermal conductivity of the target compound is larger than the carrier gas, the peak is detected as a
negative value. TCD can detect most compounds except for carrier gas but its sensitivity is not as high as

compared
Schematic of a Thermal Conductivity Detector
to other detectors, such as the FID or BID. Among the other GC detectors, it has almost the lowest
sensitivity. Its main application is the analysis of permanent gases it can analyze the compounds that are
undetectable using FID, such as water, formaldehyde, and formic acid.

Flame Ionization Detector (FID)

In FID, the components are burned and ionized; it is used for almost all organic compounds, which
have C-H or C-N structure. There are several exceptions such as CO, CO2, and CS2 which are non-organic
compounds that cannot be detected. The Carbonyl group and C=O carbon atom of the carboxyl group are
also not detectable. FID can detect most hydrocarbons which have a C-H bond in its structure, except for
HCHO and HCOOH. CHCOOH, and acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) which are from the same group as HCHO
and HCOOH respectively, and have one more carbon. They are detectable because a carbon of C-H exists
in addition to C=O. FID is mainly used to analyze organic compounds and overall, it is a stable and highly
sensitive detector, used in various fields.
 Schematic of Flame Ionization Detector (FID)
Barrier Discharge Ionization Detector (BID)
The BID is a highly sensitive device that creates ionization from a He-based, dielectric barrier discharge
plasma. A 17.7 eV plasma is generated by applying a high voltage to a quartz dielectric chamber, in the presence of
helium at a relatively low temperature. Compounds that elute from the GC column are ionized by this He plasma
energy and then detected by the collection electrode to be processed as peaks. BID can detect most of the compounds
except for He and Ne. The BID is more sensitive than both TCD and FID with the ability to analyze down to sub-
ppm levels of water and inorganic gases.
Mass Spectrometer (MS)
The GC-MS is superior in qualitative and quantitative capability and, with greatly improved
performance and operability, it is rapidly spreading in the market. The composition and principle of the GC-
MS will be explained in a separate document.
Electron Capture Detector (ECD)
Radioactive isotopes are equipped (63Ni for Shimadzu product) in ECD. It is highly selective for
electrophilic compounds which become negative ions after obtaining electrons such as organic halogens,
organic metal compounds, and diketones. The sensitivity depends on the type of halogen, its number, and
its structure. ECD’s main application is environmental analysis, such as residual pesticides, residual PCB,
Chlorine VOC in drain water, organic mercury in the environmental field, etc.

Schematic of an Electron Capture Detector (ECD)

Flame Photometric Detector (FPD)
FPD is a highly selective and sensitive detector, especially for phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), and tin
(Sn) compounds. It detects light unique to P, S, and Sn in the hydrogen flame through an interference filter.
FPD is so stable and sensitive that it is easy to use alongside selective detectors. It has been used in food
analysis,
— to detect phosphorus pesticides, sulfur odors, and food flavors
— and in environmental analysis to detect organic tin compounds in sea products.

Schematic of a Flame Photometric Detector

Flame Thermionic Detector (FTD)
A flame thermionic detector is a highly selective and sensitive detector for organic nitrogen compounds,
inorganic, and organic phosphorus compounds. It is also known as a nitrogen phosphorus detector (NPD) because
it can detect nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. Its principle and basic structure are the same as FPD. Inorganic
nitrogen compounds cannot be detected using FTD, so it cannot be applied to ammonium analysis. Its selectivity
to phosphorus compounds is lower than FPD. The main applications of FTD include the analysis of drugs,
nitrogen pesticides, and phosphorus pesticides, etc.
Schematic of a Flame Thermionic Detector
In FTD, organic nitrogen compounds and organic phosphorus compounds are decomposed and ionized in
the vicinity of the collector surface of superheated rubidium salt and detected. It is highly sensitive, but this
rubidium collector is a consumable. If not restored or replaced, the overall detector’s sensitivity tends to
drop over time.
Sulfur Chemiluminescence Detector (SCD)
The sulfur-containing compound (RS) is burned at about 800 °C in a hydrogen-filled atmosphere, to
generate sulfur monoxide (SO). SO then reacts with ozone from the ozone generator to obtain an excited state of
sulfur dioxide (SO2), and detects chemiluminescence when it returns to the ground state. A series of reactions is
carried out under reduced pressure of 5 Torr. The emitted light (hν) passes through the optical filter and is
detected by the photomultiplier tube (PMT).
A series of reactions is carried out under reduced pressure of 5 Torr. The emitted light (hν) passes through the
optical filter and is detected by the photomultiplier tube (PMT).
R-S + O → SO + H-R + H2O
SO + O3→ SO2* + O2
SO2*→ SO2 + hν (300~400nm)
SCD has high selectivity and sensitivity with a wider dynamic range as compared with FPD for the same
sulfur compound. Since the response is hardly influenced by the structure of the compound, it is possible
in principle to quantify all the sulfur compounds with one standard substance. There is no unavoidable
quenching phenomenon in FPD. SCD is widely used for the analysis of petroleum products and foods

Schematic of a Sulfur Chemiluminescence Detector (SCD)