Cold trapping of volatile organic compounds on fused silica capillary columns

A 30 m, 0.25 mm ID, fused silica capillary column at temperatures from –60 to –100°C has been shown to be a quantitative trap for organic compounds with volatilities ranging from that of 1, 1 ‐dichloroethene that of chlorobenzene. This type of “whole column cryotrapping” provided sharp peaks (peak width approximately 4–7 seconds) for all compounds at a trapping temperature of –80°C and with high carrier gas pressures and linear velocities (30 psi and 110 cm/s, respectively). Whole column cryotrapping possesses great simplicity, chromatographic efficiency (no trapping loop connections), and a built‐in indicator of quality assurance for trapping efficiency ( i.e. , peak shape). These advantages are extremely attractive and are indicative of the fact that the potential of this approach has not yet been fully appreciated.