DEVELOPMENT AND COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT FLUOROMETRIC HPLC-METHODS WITH STANDARD METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF FORMALDEHYDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE

Three different fluorimetric methods for the measurement of atmospheric formaldehyde are described. The relatively unknown 2-diphenylacetylindan-1,3-dionhydrazine (DAIH) method was developed and optimized with an improved limit of detection of 2 ppbv corresponding to a sample volume of 7.5 L. Separation of lutidines necessary for the Nash method was successfully carried out and the separation time was reduced by a factor of 5. The detection limit of the Nash method was improved to 1 ppbv. In comparison, the N,N-diphenyl-1-naphthylamine-5-sulfonhydrazine (DNSH) method performed in a similar manner, reached an LOD of 0.5 ppbv. Finally, measurements made in candle smoke using the three different fluorimetric methods and three standard methods yielded very similar results.