Conversion of Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds to Carbon Dioxide and Methyl Chloride for Isotopic Analysis of Carbon and Chlorine

A nonaqueous, high-temperature method is described for converting micromole quantities of chlorinated volatile organic compounds to CO2 and CH3Cl for C and Cl isotope ratio determinations. This method provides an improved analytical approach for using C and Cl isotope ratios in studies of the biodeg...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Analytical chemistry (Washington) 1997-07, Vol.69 (14), p.2727-2733
Main Authors: Holt, Ben D, Sturchio, Neil C, Abrajano, Teofilo A, Heraty, Linnea J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis methods
Applied sciences
Chemistry
Exact sciences and technology
Isotopes
Natural water pollution
Pollution
Water treatment and pollution
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Summary:A nonaqueous, high-temperature method is described for converting micromole quantities of chlorinated volatile organic compounds to CO2 and CH3Cl for C and Cl isotope ratio determinations. This method provides an improved analytical approach for using C and Cl isotope ratios in studies of the biodegradation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds in the environment. Conversion of reagent CH3Cl to CO2 + CuCl and then conversion of the CuCl back to CH3Cl by the present method gives typical yields of 99 ± 1% for CO2 and 91 ± 1% for CH3Cl, both products of >99% purity. An offset of −0.23 ± 0.05‰ is observed between the 37Cl/35Cl ratios of product and initial CH3Cl. Precision of the isotopic ratio measurements is better than ± 0.1‰ for a variety of chlorinated volatile organic compounds.
ISSN:0003-2700
1520-6882
DOI:10.1021/ac961096b