Potential of gas chromatography in the determination of low-volatile dicarboxylic acids

Abstract

The analysis of published data shows that the results of the gas chromatographic determination of low-volatile polar aliphatic dicarboxylic acids are rather poorly reproducible. A considerable part of the published values of their retention indices appears to be erroneous. The experimental verification of the capabilities of gas chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry demonstrates that some of the compounds of this series (for example, glutaric acid) can be determined without decomposition; others are characterized by the formation of products of interaction with solvents (oxalic acid), and in some cases, the only detectable moieties are products of thermal degradation (citric acid).