Page 428 - Tandem Techniques

Page 411

Van Loon and Barefoot {10} reported the development of a transport system [11] that conveyed a
sample of the column eluent from the column to the flame for absorption measurements. The basic
transport system is diagramatically depicted in Figure 10.5.

Figure 10.5
The Rotating Spiral Interface for LC/Flame AAS (ref. 10)

It is seen that the rotary transport interface is strongly reminiscent of the carousel interface developed
for LC/IR which was described on page 291. The main difference is that the spirals of platinum wire,
that hold a sample of the column eluent by surface tension between the coils, are used in place of cups
that carried an absorbent in the carousel interface. In fact, the rotating spiral interface also operates in
almost exactly the same way. The column eluent passes over a platinum coil, the coil taking up a certain
amount of the eluent by surface tension forces. The coil is then automatically moved on, being replaced
by the next coil. The solvent evaporates from the first coil and any residual solvent is finally eliminated
when it is sequentially moved into the first heated zone. On the next