Automation in organic analysis II. Simultaneous microdetermination of oxygen and nitrogen

A simple, rapid, and accurate method of simultaneous determination of oxygen and nitrogen in organic compounds, containing (in addition to C, H, and O) Cl, Br, and I, is described. The principle of the method consists in the pyrolytic decomposition of the analyzed compound in a current of hydrogen at 1000–1100 °C and the conducting of the hydropyrolytic product through layers of nickel and platinized carbon (50% Pt) heated at 1050 °C. On this filling the nitrogen-containing products are transformed to elementary nitrogen, the oxygen-containing products are transformed to carbon monoxide, the halogens to hydrohalogenides, and methane is decomposed. After removing hydrohalogenides by soda asbestos, carbon monoxide and nitrogen are separated on a chromatographic column filled with Porapak Q, and determined with a catharometer. The whole analysis, including the weighing of the sample, requires 25 min. Sulfur interferes with the determination.