Gas chromatography and diode array detection for the direct measurement of carbon disulfide in challenging matrices

A fast and reliable gas chromatographic technique for the direct measurement of carbon disulfide at the parts-per-billion level is introduced. The analytical approach incorporates temperature-programmed capillary gas chromatography for the fast separation of carbon disulfide using a recently introduced inert 6% cyanopropylphenyl and 94% dimethylpolysiloxane column. A newly commercialized diode array detector was employed for analyte detection. With universal response to organic compounds, a flame ionization detector was incorporated in series with the diode array detector to provide additional analytical information without incurring extra time or analyses. With this approach, a complete analysis is accomplished in less than 5 min. Carbon disulfide is measured directly without the need for pre-concentration or derivatization with a detection limit of 60 μg m⁻³. A relative precision of less than 5% RSD (n = 10) over a range from 51 pg to 106 ng (on column) of carbon disulfide with a correlation coefficient greater than 0.9993 was obtained.