Determination of carboxylic acids and phenols in water by extractive alkylation using pentafluorobenzylation, glass capillary GC and electron capture detection

Abstract

Abstract A method is presented for the simultaneous determination of a wide range of carboxylic acids and phenols in water. Extractive alkylation is used with the tetrabutylammonium ion as counter ion and pentafluorobenzylbromide as alkylating agent. Extracts are analyzed by glass capillary gas chromatography and electron capture detection. Using one ml of water sample, the detection limit lies in the range of 1–10 μg/l. Application has been made to the analysis of steam condensate and domestic sewage effluent.