COMPARISON OF CAPILLARY ZONE ELECTROPHORESIS WITH ION CHROMATOGRAPHY AND STANDARD PHOTOMETRIC METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF INORGANIC ANIONS IN ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOLS

The capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), ion chromatography and photo metric techniques were compared for the analysis of nitrate and sulpha te in high-volume sampled atmospheric aerosols. The CZE method with in direct UV detection utilizing a pyromellitate-based electrolyte was us ed. The comparative evaluation included response stability of instrume nts, detection limits, accuracy, precision, analysis time and other op erational considerations. Statistical analysis of the results indicate d that there was no evidence for systematic differences between the th ree techniques. The results suggest that CZE can be applied very advan tageously in an anion analysis in atmospheric aerosols.