Jerry W. Swearingen Jr. and T. G. Chasteen

Department of Chemistry
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, Texas 77341-2117

Presented at the 106^th Texas Academy of Sciences Meeting in Nacogdoches, Texas, USA, February 27-8, 2003.

The sulfur chemiluminescence detector (SCD) uses molecular fluorine to create a luminescent product when it reacts with organo-sulfur compounds. The most intense chemiluminescent product is excited HF. In the reaction, a vibrationally-excited HF is produced and when the compound returns to the ground state, a photon is emitted (usually in the red and near infrared region). Gas chromatography can be used to separate a mixture of volatile organo-metalloidal compounds followed by SCD. The GC/SCD detection limit for dimethyl sulfide is approximately 15 pg on-column while the detection limit of tetraethyl tin is ~66 ng. Recently tetramethyl germanium and tetramethyl silane were also analyzed by GC/SCD but yielded even poorer detection limits, in the microgram range. GC/SCD detection limit data of compounds containing nine Group 14, 15, and 16 elements will be presented and the possible variables that affect the response of this interesting system will be discussed.