ABSTRACT

Ion chromatography (IC) is a term that describes the advances made in the determination of ions. It has become a field of its own since its introduction by Small et al. (1975). Within the past 20 years, research in the area of IC has made significant advances in separation and determination of ionic species, and IC has become a rapid and sensitive technique for analyzing complex mixtures of ions. Now, ion chromatographs are available that feature high-speed separation, continuous monitoring by detector systems, and the instantaneous readout of analytical data. The IC technique, a type of highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC), has gained popularity for accurate and precise determination of anions and cations in soils, plants, water, and other environmental materials, as well as samples from clinical, metal plating, power generation, semiconductor fabrication, and other industrial sources. Several books have been published on IC, including the development and use of its components, and the potential of the technique as an analytical tool (Sawicki et al., 1978; Mulik and Sawicki, 1979a; Fritz et al., 1982; Smith and Chang, 1983; Weiss, 1986; Tarter, 1987; Small, 1989).