A gas chromatograph separates the components of a vaporized sample by carrying it in an inert gas stream through a column, where each substance is slowed by a different amount as it interacts with the column's stationary phase, so the components emerge separated in time and can be identified and measured. Archer J.P. Martin and Anthony T. James developed gas-liquid chromatography in 1952, building on the partition chromatography Martin had developed with Richard Synge in the early 1940s, for which the two shared the 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Facts
Invented Year MeasuresSeparates and identifies volatile compounds within a mixture. 1 Operating PrincipleAn inert carrier gas carries the vaporized sample through a narrow column; different compounds move through at different rates depending on how strongly they interact with the column's stationary phase, so they emerge separated in time. 1 ResolutionDetection down to picomole quantities in a 1 milliliter liquid sample, or parts-per-billion concentrations in gas samples; flame ionization detection reaches a few picograms per second. 1 Operating RangeAnalyzes substances that vaporize below about 300 degrees Celsius, run through capillary columns roughly 100 to 320 micrometers in inner diameter and 5 to 60 meters long. 1 Classification
Instrument Class Connections
Invented By
Worked with Archer Martin at the National Institute for Medical Research to develop gas-liquid partition chromatography, presented in 1950 and published in 1952.
Source Anthony T. James (Wikipedia)
Developed with A. T. James; their 1952 paper established gas liquid chromatography.
Source Gas Chromatography (Britannica)
Used In
Source Gas Chromatography (Britannica)
Source Gas Chromatography (Britannica)
Sources
1. Gas Chromatography (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroduction
separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition
Operating Principle section
Components of the sample pass through the column at different rates, depending on their chemical and physical properties
Applications / Detectors section
picomoles of a substance in a 1 ml liquid sample, or parts-per-billion concentrations in gaseous samples
Applications / Introduction
substances that vaporize below 300 C...can be measured quantitatively
Lede, instrument class
A gas chromatograph separates the components of a vaporized sample by carrying it in an inert gas stream through a column, where each substance is slowed by a different amount as it interacts with the column's stationary phase, so the components emerge separated in time and can be identified and measured.
View the Source 2. Gas Chromatography (Britannica)
Anthony T. James (Wikipedia)
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