Nonaqueous on-line simultaneous determination of metals by size exclusion chromatography with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometric detection

The development of a simultaneous on-line detector for metal species separated by effective molecular size is described. A new spray chamber to facilitate this analysis in relatively high-volatility organic solvents and to serve as the interface between a liquid chromatography (LC) and an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) is evaluated. Detection limits in toluence are comparable to those found in aqueous static operation of ICP-AES. The requirements of computer-based data output and examples of the output developed are presented. The LC-ICP interface is demonstrated by size separation of three synthetic mixtures. Two of the mixtures are iron and silicon organometallic species with different ligands attached, while the third mixture consists of approximately 20 different metals in essentially the same ligand environment.