Quantitative analysis with thermal conductivity detection in gas-liquid chromatography

The form of detector now most generally used in gas-liquid chromatography is the katharometer (thermal conductivity cell). This detector, in common with certain other “differential” types that have been employed, requires calibration for a quantitative interpretation of the clution curve, since the signal recorded is not dependent on some simple molecular parameter of the clutcd component and also is not a linear function of its concentration. The present paper mentions several causes of this non-linearity. It further illustrates, with the aid of practical examples (the analysis of narrow hydrocarbon distillates) how the katharomcter can be calibrated by analysing mixtures of the pure components in question, and how the calibration factors are applied in the quantitative interpretation of analyses,