Abstract
A chromatographic separation is useless if the separated species are not detected. A chemical compound passing through a gas chromatographic detector generates an electric signal through a fascinating variety of means. Here the ten most common detectors of the non-hyphenated variety are described to show how different these detection principles can be. Knowing these in some detail enables the analyst to choose the best detector for a particular analytical problem but also, very importantly, to avoid the pitfalls that are associated with any kind of instrument. Concrete examples from all branches of chemistry show impressive uses of both universal and selective detectors as well as how a combination of different kinds of detectors can enhance their usefulness considerably by providing different types of information on the sample composition.
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Literature
All modern textbooks include a discussion of detectors. Here are given some references to research papers discussing only detector issues.
General topics
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Mühlen Cv, Khummueng W, Zini CA, Caramão EB, Marriott PJ (2006) Detector technologies for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography. J Sep Sci 29:1909–1921
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Hinshaw JV (2006) The thermal conductivity detector. LC GC Eur 19:344–351
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Yan X (2006) Unique selective detectors for gas chromatography: Nitrogen and sulfur chemiluminescence detectors. J Sep Sci 29:1931–1945
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Andersson, J.T. (2014). Detectors. In: Dettmer-Wilde, K., Engewald, W. (eds) Practical Gas Chromatography. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54640-2_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54640-2_6
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