Low temperature SPME device: A convenient and effective tool for investigating photodegradation of volatile analytes

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), a model volatile compound, was exposed to UV irradiation (16 W, 254 nm) after being sorbed in an internally cooled or low temperature solid-phase microextraction (LT-SPME) fibre. Photolysis took place directly on the polydimethylsiloxane coating of the LT-SPME fibre, yielding an “in situ” generation of photoproducts. Maintaining the temperature of the cold fibre at 0 °C eliminated, for the first time, problems of analyte losses due to volatilisation, inherent to the conventional room temperature photo-SPME studies. During the present studies, nearly complete photoremoval of HCB could be achieved within 20 min of irradiation. Photoreduction through photodechlorination was shown to be the main decay pathway in which lesser chlorinated congeners were sequentially formed as intermediates. Accordingly, initial generation of pentachlorobenzene was followed in order from 1,2,3,5-tetrachlorobenzene, 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene and 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene. The present findings were in agreement with previously reported results. Overall, the use of the LT-SPME device as a photoreaction support not only eliminated analyte losses but also greatly facilitated photochemical investigations of volatile compounds in general.