The Chemical Characterization of Potential Organic Interferences in Two Commercially Available Polymeric Adsorbents

Abstract

Current use of synthetic adsorbents for the collection of trace organics in environmental samples is quite extensive. It has been suggested that high levels of organic contaminants in these resins may interfere with subsequent analyses, however, the identity of these suspected contaminants has not been reported.

This paper reports a qualitative and quantitative characterization of the residual organics in two polymeric adsorbents.

Both resins are commercially available polymers of styrene divinyl-benzene. The structures of the contaminants were verified by combined gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). High artifact levels are typical for both of the Amberite® resins studied. The majority of these materials, as verified by capillary GC/MS, were alkyl derivatives of benzene, styrene, naphthalene and biphenyl.

Key Words:

• Polymeric Adsorbents
• Amber Iite® XAD resins
• Sample contamination
• GC/MS
• characterization and quantitation