1995 Volume 44 Issue 4 Pages 311-312
A preconcentration procedure using a thermally reversible polymer, poly(vinylmethylether) (PVME), is proposed for determining polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) in air without using organic solvent. PVME is soluble in water below 31°C but solidifies abruptly on heating above 31°C becoming insoluble. Air sample was bubbled into 0.035% PVME aqueous solution below 31°C to dissolve the PAHs in air. With phase separation of PVME from the aqueous solution at 53°C, PAHs were captured in the resulting solid PVME which stuck to the wall of the reaction vessel. After discarding the supernatant solution by decantation, the PAHs were dissolved in a small volume of acetonitrile together with PVME. Each PAH was separated and quantified by HPLC with reversed phase column using fluorescence detection. The method was applied to 11 kinds of PAHs: the detection limit was 0.6pmol/test.
