SENSITIVE GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHIC DETERMINATION OF PHENOLS AS BROMOPHENOLS USING ELECTRON-CAPTURE DETECTION

Eight phenols, phenol, o-, m- and p-cresol, 2,3-, 2,5-, 3,4- and 3,5-xylenol, were converted into the corresponding bromophenols by reaction with bromine. The optimum conditions for the bromophenol derivative formation of 10-8 mol of each phenol in 1 ml of ethanol were as follows: mol ratio (bromine/phenols), greater than 400; reaction temperature, room temperature; reaction time, 4 h. The minimum detectable amount of the bromophenols with an electron capture detector was about 0.01 ng, which is about 100 times less than the minimum detectable amount of the non-bromine-containing phenols. © 1979.