Separation of C2-naphthalenes by gas chromatography x fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (GC x FT-IR): two-dimensional separation approach.

A two-dimensional separation approach involving gas chromatography (GC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) is used to separate C2-naphthalene isomers at or near baseline resolution. In addition to GC separation, the FT-IR also plays an important role in the separation, as well as its traditional role of detection and identification. This two-dimensional separation approach for the analysis of a C2-naphthalene isomeric mixture is a good example of separation design based on molecular difference and the characteristics of an analytical instrument. The details of this two-dimensional separation are discussed, along with the advantages and limitations of this approach. While two-(or multiple-)dimensional separations have demonstrated superior capabilities in the characterization of complex, largely unknown mixtures, the development of GC×FT-IR illustrates the applicability of this analytical approach in the separation of simpler but still challenging, mixtures. The GC×FT-IR results have exten...