Influence of Impurities on Determination of Decabrominateddiphenyl Ether in Plastic Materials by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

The effects of impurities on determining the concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in plastic materials by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were studied. Decabrominateddiphenyl ether (DBDE) extracted from a certified reference polystyrene (NMIJ CRM 8110-a) was analyzed by GC-MS with the use of 4,4′-dibromoctafluorobiphenyl (DBOFB) and pyrene as an internal standard and a syringe spike, respectively. DBDE concentration in the CRM was determined to be over 1100 mg/kg, although the certified value was 886 mg/kg. Among the various impurities identified in the CRM, paraffins proved to cause this discrepancy, because they showed a broad bump peak and were partially co-eluted with DBDE and pyrene on the chromatogram.