CONSTRUCTION OF A CAPILLARY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA MASS-SPECTROMETRY TRANSFER LINE AND APPLICATION OF THE TECHNIQUE TO THE ANALYSIS OF ALKYLLEAD SPECIES IN FUEL

The interfacing of a capillary gas chromatograph with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer is described. The interfacing required only a simple modification to the conventional inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) torch and the construction of a heated transfer line. Capillary gas chromatography ICP-MS has a high chromatographic resolving power, is sensitive and element specific. The technique shows great potential of becoming a very useful method for the analysis of a wide range of volatile organometallic compounds. As an example, the quantitative analysis of alkyllead compounds in a complex hydrocarbon mixture (limit of detection 0.7 pg s-1 and <5% RSD) is reported but the method is also applicable to the analysis of relatively involatile organometallics.