Volatile organic compounds analyzed by direct insertion probe mass spectrometry

A modified approach for analyzing volatile organic compounds through standard direct insertion probe mass spectrometry is presented. With aluminum oxide or silica powder packed in a capillary tube, the sample’s evaporative loss in a high vacuum instrument chamber is significantly reduced and the retention time is increased accordingly. With this technique, organic compounds with lower boiling points (e.g., 2-butanol at 99 °C) can be readily detected and analyzed.