A Sensitive Method for Simultaneous Determination of Airborne Organolead Compounds Part I: Chromatographic Separation and Chemical Reaction Detection

Abstract

Reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a sensitive chemical reaction detector has been developed for the separation and detection of inorganic lead and organolead compounds. The separation of Pb²⁺, Me, Pb⁺, Et₃Pb⁺, Me₄Pb, and Et₄Pb can be achieved within 50 minutes. The eluate from the column flows continuously through a system of mixing coils where the lead species are transformed into compounds which undergo complexation with 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol. The red-coloured complex is detected spectrophotometrically at 546 nm. In the lower measuring range of 0.3 to 1.5nmol (abs.) for the five compounds linear calibration curves are obtained. The requirements and characteristics of the separation and post-column reactions are illustrated and the linearity, reproducibility, and sensitivity of the system are discussed.