Influence of Gas Chromatographic Parameters on Determination of Decabromodiphenyl Ether

In this paper, we present a study on the influence of chromatographic parameters on determination of decabromodiphenyl ether in an attempt to arrive at optimum conditions that enhance its detection in environmental samples. Gas chromatography–electron capture detector (GC–ECD) equipped with digital pressure and gas flow control, ZB-5 capillary column of 15 and 30 m length (0.25 mm id, 0.25 μm df) are used. 1 μL of 20 ng μL−1 commercial decabromodiphenyl ether mixture dissolved in toluene is injected into the column in splitless mode and each parameter varied. Injection temperature of 290 °C, initial and final oven temperatures of 90 °C and 300–310 °C, respectively, 1.0 min splitless time and 2.5 mL min−1 flow rate found to be optimum on 15 m column. Under optimum condition, entrance of BDE209 into the column is improved; retention time reduced by a factor of three and high repeatability with almost no degradation observed. Finally, the developed method is validated using standard reference material and applied to indoor dust samples. The average concentrations of decabromodiphenyl ether found from dust analysis in ng g−1 are 118 ± 6.6, 103 ± 11 and 26 ± 1.6 in hotel, office and computer room, respectively.