K. Jinno (Ed.

), Hyphenated Techniques in
Supercritical Fluid Chromatography and Extraction
Journal of Chromatograph Library Series, Vol. 53
0 1992 Elsevier Science F h i s h e r s B.V. Ail rights resewed.

Chapter 1
GENERAL DETECTION PROBLEMS IN SFC

Herbert €IBill
. and David A. Atkinson
Department of Chemistry
Washington State University
Pullman WA, 99164-4630

INTRODUCTION
Hyphenated t e c h n i q u e s i n a n a l y t i c a l c h e m i s t r y h a v e e v o l v e d
a s c o m b i n a t i o n s o f two o r more u n r e l a t e d a n a l y t i c a l methods
h a v e b e e n i n t e r f a c e d t o p r o v i d e two s e t s of d a t a a b o u t t h e
same s a m p l e . I n t h e most common c a s e , ( t h e o n e d i s c u s s e d
e x c l u s i v e l y i n t h i s b o o k ) t h e f i r s t s t a g e of a h y p h e n a t e d
s y s t e m s e r v e s as a s e p a r a t i o n s t e p w h i l e t h e s e c o n d s t a g e
provides s p e c t r a l information about t h e s e p a r a t e d
components. By s i m u l t a n e o u s l y o b t a i n i n g two s e t s o f d a t a
( s e p a r a t i o n d a t a a n d s p e c t r a l d a t a ) on t h e same s a m p l e ,
h y p h e n a t e d a n a l y t i c a l t e c h n i q u e s h a v e become p o w e r f u l t o o l s
of a n a l y s i s , p r o v i d i n g much more u s e f u l i n f o r m a t i o n t h a n
t h a t o b t a i n e d b y o p e r a t i n g t h e two t e c h n i q u e s i n d e p e n d e n t l y .
When t h e s e p a r a t i o n s t a g e o f a h y p h e n a t e d s y s t e m i s S F C ,
s p e c i a l i n t e r f a c i n g .problems e x i s t b e t w e e n t h e SFC a n d t h e
s p e c t r o m e t e r d u e t o t h e u n i q u e p r o p e r t i e s of s u p e r c r i t i c a l
f l u i d s . Phase changes, v a r y i n g sample i n t r o d u c t i o n r a t e s ,
mobile phase c o m p a t i b i l i t y , mobile phase e l i m i n a t i o n ,
i n t e g r i t y o f t h e SFC s e p a r a t i o n , a n d ambiguous d e t e c t o r
t e r m i n o l o g y a r e a l l p r o b l e m s w i t h SFC h y p h e n a t e d a n a l y t i c a l
m e t h o d s . T h i s s e c t i o n d i s c u s s e s t h e g e n e r a l n a t u r e of these
p r o b l e m s , w h i l e t h e i n d i v i d u a l t o p i c s w i l l d i s c u s s i n more
d e t a i l how t h e s e p r o b l e m s a r e s o l v e d f o r e a c h s p e c i f i c
technique.

THE PHASE CHANGE

U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e r e a r e few d e t e c t o r s which o p e r a t e u n d e r
s u p e r c r i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n s . Most d e t e c t i o n m e t h o d s which a r e
c u r r e n t l y u s e d w i t h SFC o p e r a t e e i t h e r u n d e r l i q u i d , g a s , o r
vacuum c o n d i t i o n s . T h i s means t h a t as t h e sample t r a v e l s
from t h e c h r o m a t o g r a p h t o t h e d e t e c t o r , i t must u n d e r g o a
p h a s e change from a s u p e r c r i t i c a l f l u i d t o a l i q u i d o r g a s
b e f o r e it can be d e t e c t e d .
L

Figure 1 provides a classification diagram of spectral

detectors used after SFC. Each detector is divided into
three classes: the cell design, the response mechanism, and
the pressure under which the detector operates. As can be
seen from the figure, spectral detectors for SFC fall into
categories of ion detectors and optical detectors and are
operated at high, ambient, or low pressures. For high
pressure operation, detection occurs at pressures similar to
those used for the supercritical separation and the detector
cell must be of a lTclosed"design in order to maintain the
pressure in the detector. For ambient and low pressure
detectors, the cell design is usually rTopen"to aid in the
elimination of the mobile phase as it decompresses to form a
gas.

SJS MS FT-'IMS
MES
Classification Diagram of Spectral
Detectors Used i n SFC: Fourier
Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR),
Supersonic Jet Spectrometry (SJS) ,
Microwave Plasma Emission Spectrometry
(MES), Mass Spectrometry (MS) and
Fourier Transform Ion Mobility
Spectrometry (FTIMS).
Cell Design. Phase changes in closed cells are not
particularly difficult to achieve since the change is
normally from a supercritical fluid to a liquid state. The
detector simply must be cooled below the critical
temperature of the mobile phase. For most SFC systems, room
temperature will produce a liquid of the mobile phase at
supercritical pressures. Decompression of the mobile phase
is accomplished relatively easily after the analytical data
have been obtained. The primary problems associated with
closed detectors are in design. Closed cells must be
capable of withstanding high pressures while providing
 3

windows t o monitor o p t i c a l e v e n t s , I n a d d i t i o n , c e l l volume

m u s t be kept a s s m a l l a s p o s s i b l e t o p r e v e n t band broadening
of t h e chromatographic p e a k s .
I n open c e l l d e t e c t o r s , t h e phase change o c c u r s b e f o r e
d e t e c t i o n . P r e s s u r e i s r a p i d l y reduced from s u p e r c r i t i c a l
f l u i d c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e column t o ambient o r vacuum
c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e d e t e c t o r c e l l . To accomplish t h i s r a p i d
decompression w i t h o u t sample decomposition, mobile p h a s e
c l u s t e r i n g , sample p r e c i p i t a t i o n , o r p l u g g i n g of t h e system,
s p e c i a l l y d e s i g n e d r e s t r i c t o r s m u s t be p l a c e d i n t h e flow
p a t h between t h e column and t h e d e t e c t o r .
Restrictors. There a r e f i v e commonly used r e s t r i c t o r s f o r
SFC: t h e l i n e a r o r F j e l d s t e d r e s t r i c t o r ( Z ) , t h e tapered o r
C h e s t e r r e s t r i c t o r (3), t h e i n t e g r a l o r G u t h r i e r e s t r i c t o r
(4), t h e p i n h o l e o r S m i t h r e s t r i c t o r ( 5 ) and t h e f r i t o r
R i c h t e r r e s t r i c t o r (6). Each of t h e s e r e s t r i c t o r s h a s
s p e c i a l advantages which warrant t h e i r u s e i n s p e c i f i c
circumstances. Figure 2 provides schematic c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l
diagrams of t h e s e f i v e r e s t r i c t o r s .

Figure 2: Cross-sectional schematic diagrams of

SFC restrictors used in hyphenated
techniques.
The F j e l d s t e d r e s t r i c t o r ( F i g u r e 2 a ) i s t h e s i m p l e s t i n
d e s i g n and t h e f i r s t t y p e used w i t h c a p i l l a r y SFC. I t
c o n s i s t s of a s h o r t c a p i l l a r y t u b e ( 1 0 t o 25 cm), u s u a l l y
uncoated s i l i c a , w i t h an i n t e r n a l d i a m e t e r which i s
s i g n i f i c a n t l y reduced o v e r t h a t o f t h e column. For example,
t h e i n t e r n a l d i a m e t e r of t h e column might be 1 0 0 pm and t h a t
o f t h e r e s t r i c t o r might be 1 0 pm. Advantages o f F j e l d s t e d
r e s t r i c t o r s a r e t h a t they a r e inexpensive, easy t o r e p l a c e ,
and do not p l u g a s e a s i l y a s some of t h e o t h e r r e s i s t o r s .
The primary d i s a d v a n t a g e i s t h a t decompression o c c u r s o v e r
4

t h e e n t i r e l e n g t h of t h e t u b e . As a r e s u l t , t h e s o l v a t i n g
power of t h e mobile phase d e c r e a s e s t h r o u g h o u t t h e l e n g t h o f
t h e r e s t r i c t o r making it d i f f i c u l t t o t r a n s f e r h i g h e r
molecular weight compounds t o t h e d e t e c t o r . I n a d d i t i o n ,
c o o l i n g from t h e decompression c a u s e s c o n d e n s a t i o n o f
s o l v e n t and sample molecules which produces c l u s t e r
p a r t i c l e s t h a t can p e r t u r b d e t e c t o r r e s p o n s e .
To reduce t h e e f f e c t of s o l v e n t c l u s t e r i n g , a r e s t r i c t o r can
be t a p e r e d a t t h e end down t o an i n t e r n a l d i a m e t e r of 1 t o 3
pm. T h i s C h e s t e r r e s t r i c t o r ( F i g u r e 2b) can be produced
manually from a flame i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y , b u t f o r
reproducibility, robotically pulled r e s t r i c t o r s are
recommended ( 7 ) . S t i l l , i n t h i s d e s i g n , decompression
o c c u r s over s e v e r a l cm of t h e t a p e r e d s e c t i o n and t h e t h i n
t a p e r e d s e c t i o n i s extremely f r a g i l e .
With p r a c t i c e and p e r s e v e r a n c e , t h e G u t h r i e r e s t r i c t o r
( F i g u r e 2c) can a l s o be made i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y . I t is
c o n s t r u c t e d b y c a r e f u l l y h e a t i n g t h e end of a f u s e d s i l i c a
c a p i l l a r y u n t i l it j u s t c l o s e s . Then t h e c l o s e d end is
p o l i s h e d u n t i l it is reopened by a s m a l l c r a c k shaped
o r i f i c e . The size of t h i s o r i f i c e is a d j u s t e d t h r o u g h
p o l i s h i n g u n t i l t h e d e s i r e d flow r a t e t h r o u g h t h e r e s t r i c t o r
is achieved. With t h e G u t h r i e r e s t r i c t o r , p r e s s u r e is
dropped over a much s h o r t e d d i s t a n c e t h a n w i t h e i t h e r t h e
F j e l d s t e d o r C h e s t e r r e s t r i c t o r s . T h u s , compounds w i t h
lower v o l a t i l i t i e s s t a y i n s u p e r c r i t i c a l s o l u t i o n u n t i l t h e y
a r e r a p i d l y decompressed and d i s p e r s e d i n t h e g a s p h a s e .
The u l t i m a t e r e s t r i c t o r d e s i g n f o r n e a r l y i n s t a n t a n e o u s
decompression i s t h e S m i t h r e s t r i c t o r ( F i g u r e 2d) which
c o n s i s t s of a l a s e r d r i l l e d " p i n h o l e " o r i f i c e i n a t h i n
metal f o i l . Used p r i m a r i l y f o r i n t e r f a c i n g SFC s y s t e m s w i t h
vacuum systems, t h e S m i t h r e s t r i c t o r i s d i f f i c u l t t o
c o n s t r u c t and i n s t a l l . T h e primary problem w i t h b o t h t h e
S m i t h and t h e G u t h r i e r e s t r i c t o r s i s p l u g g i n g . Small
p a r t i c l e s e n t r a i n e d i n t h e mobile phase o r n o n - v o l a t i l e
components which have p r e c i p i t a t e d r e a d i l y p l u g t h e
r e s t r i c t o r . When plugged, t h e r e s t r i c t o r m u s t be removed,
cleaned o r replaced.
A compromise between t h e S m i t h o r Guthrie r e s t r i c t o r and t h e
F j e l d s t e d o r C h e s t e r r e s t r i c t o r is t h e R i c h t e r r e s t r i c t o r
( 6 ) . The R i c h t e r r e s t r i c t o r ( F i g u r e 2e) resembles a porous
f r i t i n s i d e a f u s e d s i l i c a c a p i l l a r y . . The p o r o s i t y of t h e
f r i t p r o v i d e s m u l t i p l e p a t h s and reduces t h e frequency of
plugging w h i l e p r o v i d i n g a r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t decompression
zone.
 5

RESOLUTION INTEGRITY
When interfacing any detection method to a separation
process such as SFC, the integrity of the separation must be
maintained. The resolution between two components which is
gained during a highly efficient separation can be
significantly degraded by a poorly designed interface.
Transfer-line broadening, stagnant-volume broadening,
detector-cell broadening, and electronic broadening are all
mechanisms which contribute to overall postseparation peak
.
broadening ( 7 )
Transfer-line broadening occurs when the eluents must be
transferred from the column to the: detector. Longitudinal
diffusion and radial diffusion can contribute to broadening
effects in supercritical fluids. Since longitudinal
diffusion is decreased and radial diffusion in increased by
increasing the linear flow velocity of the supercritical
mobile phase in the transfer line, there should exist an
optimal flow velocity for transferring eluents from the
column to the detector.
Stagnant-volume refers to that volume in a transfer line or
detector cell which is not swept by the mobile phase. Thus
solutes which have become trapped in a stagnant volume must
rely on diffusion to reenter the flowing mobile phase
stream. Stagnant volume can be reduced by careful attention
to plumbing of the interface to in3ure that all portions of
the postcolumn region are swept by the mobile phase.
While peak broadening due to stagnant volumes, longitudinal
diffusion, and radial diffusion can occur in the detector,
the major contribution to peak broadening is simply the
volume of the detector. The detected volume of a sample
(V,) is equal to the volume of the solute which passes
through the detector (V,) plus the cell volume of the
detector (V,).

Thus the detected volume is larger than the actual volume by

the cell volume.
Finally, chromatographic peaks can be broadened
electronically if response times are too slow. The
following equation shows how to estimate the percent band
broadening which will occur as a function of the electronic
response time.

where % S is the percent contribution to band broadening by

the electronics of the system, tE is the response time of
6

the electronics, N is the number of theoretical plates for

the separation and tR is the retention time of the solute.
As a general rule, no more than 5% peak broadening should
occur after separation is complete. This implies that the
detector volume should be less than one-twentieth of the
volume of a separated solute zone. With good detector
designs, transfer line, stagnant volume, and electronic
broadening can be eliminated.

MOBILE PHASE COWPATIBILITY

Perhaps the most difficult problem associated with SFC
detection is compatibility with the mobile phase. Carbon
dioxide has emerged as one of the principal mobile phases
used in SFC not only because of its convenient critical
parameters and non-toxicity but also because of its
compatibility with both flame ionization and W absorption
detection. Nevertheless, the use of modifiers with C 0 2 to
increase polarity is severely limited by the detection
method employed. For example, flame ionization cannot be
used when C02 is modified with methanol and W absorption
cannot be used when C02 is modified with compounds
containing chromaphors.
Even when pure carbon dioxide is used, interferences occur
with other detection systems. With IR detection, for
example, C02 obscures broad areas of the usable spectra and
these obscured areas vary as a function of pressure. Exotic
mobile phases such as supercritical xenon can be used to
avoid interferences with on-line IR detection methods or
off-line methods must be employed to eliminate the solvent
from the solute prior to detection.
Whether pure or modified mobile phases are used for SFC
separation, it should be clear that the response of the
detector to the mobile phase is more important in the
selection of a mobile phase than are the separation
characteristics of the the phase. No evaluation of
detection methods for SFC can be complete without a detailed
discussion of mobile phase compatibility.
DETECTOR EVALUATION
Finally, comparative evaluation of hyphenated detection
methods for SFC can present a problem since such a wide
variety of analytical methods can be interfaced with SFC.
Each analytical method of detection has a particular set of
information, called Figures of Merit IFOM), which
characterize the analytical merit of the technique.
For qualitative analysis, hyphenated techniques usually
employ a detection method in which spectral information can
 7

be obtained for each component that has been separated by

SFC. Optical and ion spectroscopies are normally employed
although electrochemical 01: additional separation methods
may a l s o be used following SFC to obtain qualitative
information about the separated components. Optical methods
discussed in this book include FTIR, ICP and microwave
plasma emission spectrometry. I o n methods include ion
mobility and mass spectrometry.
When these optical and ion techniques are operated in the
spectral mode, resolution of the spectra and minimum
quantity required of a component to produce a meaningful
spectra are important qualitative FOMs to report. I n
addition, information on sampling time, scan time and
spectral noise should be reported.
These spectrometers can also be operated in a monitoring
mode in which one wavelength or one ion species i s
continuously monitored to produce a continuous tracing of
the developing chromatogram. In this mode, quantitative
information about the components is possible.

Figure 3 : Quantitative Figures of Merit

f o r SFC Detectors (Reprinted from R e f .
7 w i t h permission).
8

FOMs f o r q u a n t i t a t i v e a n a l y s i s a r e b e s t d i s c u s s e d i n terms
of an a n a l y t i c a l c a l i b r a t i o n g r a p h shown i n F i g u r e 3 .
Important q u a n t i t a t i v e FOMs t o r e p o r t from t h e d a t a produced
from a c a l i b r a t i o n graph such a s t h i s i n c l u d e t h e root-mean-
s q u a r e n o i s e of t h e b a s e l i n e , t h e s l o p e o f t h e l i n e which i s
t h e s e n s i t i v i t y of t h e d e t e c t o r , t h e l i n e a r and dynamic
range of t h e d e t e c t o r , and f i n a l l y t h e d e t e c t i o n l i m i t of
t h e d e t e c t o r , which i s t h e mass flow r a t e o r c o n c e n t r a t i o n
of t h e s o l u t e r e q u i r e d t o produce a s i g n a l which i s 3 t i m e s
t h e rms n o i s e .

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2. J . C . F j e l d s t e d , R . C . Kong, and M . L . Lee, J.
Chromatogr. 279, 4 4 9 ( 1 9 8 3 ) ,
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