Evaluation of highly adsorptive Guefoams (multifunctional guest-containing foams) as a potential sorbent for determination  of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by means of thermal desorption

• Published in: Mikrochimica acta (1966) Vol. 191; no. 3; p. 169
• Main Authors: Sánchez, Raquel, Sanahuja, Ana Beltrán, Lauría, Lucila Paola Maiorano, Todolí, José Luis, Jordá, José Miguel Molina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.03.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Activated carbon; Adsorptivity; Aluminum; Analytical Chemistry; Biofuels; Cellular structure; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Desorption; Energy consumption; Feasibility; Gas chromatography; Mass spectrometry; Microengineering; Nanochemistry; Nanotechnology; Original Paper; Polydimethylsiloxane; Qualitative analysis; Sorbents; Thermal conductivity; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Guefoam; Thermal adsorption–desorption; Static headspace analysis; Volatile organic compounds (VOCs); Cereal bioethanol analysis
• ISSN: 0026-3672; 1436-5073
• DOI: 10.1007/s00604-024-06249-9

The present work delves into the feasibility of employing a novel structured sorbent referred to as GFAD (Guefoam Adsorption Device) for the determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in liquid samples. The chosen method has been static headspace sorptive extraction-thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HSSE-TD-GC–MS). The GFAD comprises an aluminum cellular material with a distinct replication structure and a solid guest phase consisting of activated carbon particles dispersed within the cavities of the cellular aluminum. The extensive specific surface area, robustness, and exceptional thermal conductivity of this pioneering material offer distinct advantages over commercially available polydimethylsiloxane-based Twister® devices. Therefore, the trapping efficiency for volatile organic compounds is enhanced, and it is possible to perform the analysis of concentrated samples. According to computational simulations, it has been demonstrated that GFAD has a high heat conductivity. As a result, the desorption efficiency is improved, and minimal temperature gradients are generated throughout the GFAD during the heating process. Besides, the energy consumption is significantly lowered, thus aligning with environmentally conscientious and sustainable analytical practices. The experimental results give a proof of the suitability of the GFAD for determining gaseous compounds in liquid samples through HSSE-TD-GC–MS. For volatile species, the new material provides higher peak areas and lower limits of detection than a commercially available Twister® device. Furthermore, the GFAD is reusable, its adsorbing properties remaining unchanged during, at least, 100 consecutive analyses. In addition, unlike to the Twister®, no intense siloxane peaks are observed in the chromatograms obtained with the GFAD. The feasibility of qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis with the new accessory has been demonstrated with both standards and a cereal bioethanol real sample. Graphical abstract