This document discusses the uses and analysis methods of nitroaromatic compounds. Nitroaromatics are commonly used as solvents and precursors to high value organic compounds, and some are also explosive or precursors to explosives. The document addresses the limitations of analyzing nitroaromatics and recommends the use of the Agilent Dual Plasma Nitrogen Chemiluminescence Detector for detecting nitrogen-containing species.
This document describes the analysis of nitroaromatics and explosive materials using Gas Chromatography (GC) coupled with an Agilent Dual Plasma Nitrogen Chemiluminescence Detector (NCD). It highlights the detector's high selectivity for nitrogen species, which allows for the detection of analytes in the presence of interfering carbon-based compounds and at lower elution temperatures than mass spectrometry.
The text provides a specific experimental setup involving an Agilent 6890 GC and a Restek Rtx-TNT column. It details the operating conditions, including injector and oven temperature programs, and presents chromatographic results for various nitroaromatic compounds and calibration mixtures, demonstrating sub-ng level detection capabilities.
| Selectivity toward nitrogen species | greater than 10 over carbon |
|---|---|
| Detector operating environment | vacuum |
| Base temperature | 300 °C |
| Burner temperature | 900 °C |
| Oxygen flow rate | 8 SCCM |
| Hydrogen flow rate | 4 SCCM |
| Column length | 6 m |
| Column inner diameter | 0.63 mm |
| Column film thickness | 1.5 ym |
The detector has high selectivity toward nitrogen species, greater than 10 over carbon.
A Restek Rtx-TNT column with a length of 6 m and an inner diameter of 0.63 mm was used.
The base temperature is 300 °C and the burner temperature is 900 °C.