Use of hypercrosslinked polystyrene for the determination of pyrocatechol, resorcinol, and hydroquinone by reversed-phase HPLC with dynamic on-line preconcentration

Adsorption isotherms of pyrocatechol, resorcinol, and hydroquinone on hypercrosslinked polystyrene MN-200 are described by the Langmuir equation; distribution coefficients of these compounds are 1500, 550, and 370 mL/g, respectively; breakthrough capacities are 15.3, 11.2, and 11.3 mg/g, respectively. The comparison of hypercrosslinked polystyrene with other sorbents in the efficiency of the dynamic preconcentration of hydroxyphenols demonstrated its advantages. A procedure is proposed for the determination of pyrocatechol, resorcinol, and hydroquinone in water by high-performance liquid chromatography with dynamic on-line preconcentration on a concentrating column instead of the injector loop, which provides the determination of these compounds at concentrations down to 2-3 mug/L. The accuracy of the procedure was verified by the added-found method with a water sample.