Developments in the analysis of volatile halogenated compounds

This article reviews recent literature on the analysis of halogenated volatile organic compounds (HVOCs). The main sources are reviews from the past five years and research papers published in 2002–04 reporting new developments in HVOC analysis. At the sampling and preconcentration stage, new sorbent materials, such as purified multi-walled carbon nanotubes were introduced for enrichment and subsequent thermal desorption of HVOCs in air and water samples. However, we noted a growing tendency for solid-phase microextraction-based preconcentration techniques, which do not require expensive on-line heating and cooling devices and enable high-throughput analysis of HVOCs at trace level concentrations. With respect to separation of HVOCs, the most important development is comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography. At the detection stage, atomic emission-based detection has increasingly been used in HVOC analysis, whereas plasma-based mass-spectrometry (MS) detection and isotope-ratio MS have emerged as promising technologies in HVOC identification and quantification. Besides laboratory-based analytical methods, automated on-site analysis has become an important issue in HVOC monitoring, especially in ambient-air analysis. Finally, growing attention has been paid to quality assurance. Inter-laboratory exercises have enabled laboratories to validate analytical methods and to guarantee the quality of monitoring results.