ABSTRACT
Volatile mixture component analysis can be facilitated by employing gas-liquid chromatography to isolate mixture constituents. In contrast, infrared spectroscopy is a multidimensional detector that can provide a wealth of molecular structure information in addition to component detection. Vapor phase infrared spectra contain functional group-specific features and are particularly useful for isomer discrimination. The component-separating ability of gas chromatography can be enhanced by employing two-dimensional chromatography. Heart cutting is particularly useful for the analysis of extremely complex mixtures that may not be completely resolved by a single column. In fact, a light pipe and connecting tubing constitute a mixing volume in which separated components might recombine. This mixing results in chromatographic resolution degradation. Resolution loss is greatest for large “dead” volumes. Obviously, light pipe volumes should be reduced in order to minimize this effect.
