Detection of osmocene by gas chromatography-flame photometry

Following gas chromatographic separation, bis(cyclopentadienyl) osmium (osmocene) can be selectively determined by a flame photometric detector. The luminescence is broad and spectrally complex, with the highest emission intensity observed in the red and near infrared. The minimum detectable amount (S/N=2) of osmocene is 0.5 ng or 0.15 pmol/s (0.2 ng by the IUPAC definition), and its linear range spans close to three orders of magnitude. The selectivity within linear range vis-à-vis naphthalene, through a 650-nm cut-on filter, is about 1.7 × 10³ on a compound weight basis, or 4.3 × 10⁴ on an elemental (mol Os/mol C) basis. The molar response ratios for the bis(cyclopentadienyl) derivatives of the iron group metals Fe Ru Os are approximately 3 60 1, at a set of conditions roughly suited to the simultaneous detection of all three elements in one chromatographic run.Part of doctoral thesis requirements of first author