Speciation analysis by gas chromatography with plasma source spectrometric detection

State-of-the-art species-selective analysis by gas chromatography (GC) with plasma source spectrometric detection is discussed for organometal and organometalloid compounds. Various plasmas, inductively coupled plasma, microwave induced plasma, capacitatively coupled plasma, direct current plasma and alternating current plasma, are characterized and critically compared as sources of radiation for atomic emission spectrometry and sources of ions for mass spectrometry. Interfaces between gas chromatography (packed, wide-bore, capillary and multicapillary) and plasma source spectrometry are characterized, Particular emphasis is given to applications of GC with plasma source detection to real-world analytical problems, which are comprehensively reviewed. The use of plasmas for the acquisition of auxiliary molecular information such as empirical formulae and structural information is discussed. Recent developments relating to sample preparation and presentation to the hyphenated system are addressed. The most significant trends in speciation analysis are highlighted. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.