A high resolution MEMS based gas chromatography column for the analysis of benzene and toluene gaseous mixtures

his paper reports a high resolution gas chromatography (GC) column based on micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. This 6.0 m long, 100 μm wide, and 100 μm deep column was fabricated using deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) to form channels for gas separation, and the channels were sealed with Pyrex 7740 glass by using anode bonding. After the GC column was coated with dimethyl polysiloxane (OV-1) as the stationary phase, benzene and toluene were successfully separated in less than 185 s. The resolution of benzene and toluene was 6.33, which was higher than any previously reported values to our best knowledge. The tailing factors of benzene and toluene were 1.13 and 1.20, respectively, and the number of theoretical plates of toluene was 4850. The system is applicable as a portable device for ambient air quality monitoring and industrial exhaust gas analysis.