Effect of ammonia on the response of the electron capture detector (ECD)

Abstract The effect of ammonia on the electron capture detector (ECD) response has been investigated. Nitrogen with different ammonia concentrations (5–20%) was used as make‐up gas. Compared to pure nitrogen, the ECD response decreased when the ammonia concentration in the make‐up gas was 5%. However, the response increased when the ammonia concentration was 20%. The response factor of 4‐chlorophenol increased 4 fold when ammonia was 20%. Also, di‐ and tri‐chlorophenols increased by 30–50%. The nitroaromatic compounds responses increased by about 2–3.7 times with 20% ammonia in the make‐up gas. The signal‐to‐noise (S/N) increased when 20% ammonia in nitrogen was used as make‐up gas compared to pure nitrogen. Also, the detector linearity increased by 50% with ammonia.