Functionalized metal oxides as a stationary phase and a surface template for micro gas chromatography separation columns
AssigneeVirginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.
InventorsMasoud Agah, Muhammad Akbar, Apoorva Garg, Leyla Nazhandali, Hamza Shakeel
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Abstract
The present invention provides a detector and method for detecting substances in complex mixtures. The detector includes a microfabricated preconcentrator, a separation column with an on-chip thermal conductivity detector, a controller for controlling flow and thermal management and a user interface. The thermal conductivity detector includes a first resistor located at an inlet of the separation column and a second resistor located at an outlet of the separation column.
Claims17
A detector for measuring water organic compounds (WOCs) in an aqueous sample, comprising:
- a trap having a first cavity and purge extractor;
- said purge extractor defining a second cavity for receiving an extraction of WOCs from an aqueous sample, said purge extractor having spaced apart inlets and a first outlet and second outlet, one of said inlets configured to allow the passage of an aqueous sample to be analyzed into said second cavity and said other inlet configured to allow the passage of inert gas into said second cavity to purge WOCs from said second cavity;
- said inlets spaced apart to promote the uniform distribution of said inert gas and said aqueous sample;
- said first outlet and said second outlet configured to allow waste water to drain from said second cavity and to prevent water from entering said trap;
- said trap comprised of a distribution network, said distribution network is comprised of a plurality of posts, said posts configured to have an affinity for a compound to be detected;
- said posts having a metal oxide deposited thereon by atomic layer deposition to create a stationary phase medium;
- said metal oxide is aluminum oxide, hafnium oxide or zirconium oxide;
- and
- said first cavity is coated with SiO2 nanoparticles (SNPs).
A detector for measuring water organic compounds (WOCs) in an aqueous sample, comprising:
- a purge extractor;
- a trap defining a first cavity;
- a thermal conductivity detector defining a second cavity;
- a column defining a third cavity;
- said purge extractor defining a fourth cavity for receiving an extraction of WOCs from an aqueous sample, said purge extractor having spaced apart inlets and a first outlet and second outlet, one of said inlets configured to allow the passage of an aqueous sample to be analyzed into said fourth cavity and said other inlet configured to allow the passage of inert gas into said fourth cavity to purge WOCs from said fourth cavity;
- said inlets spaced apart to promote the uniform distribution of said inert gas and said aqueous sample;
- said first outlet and said second outlet configured to allow waste water to drain from said fourth cavity and to prevent water from entering said trap;
- said trap comprised of a distribution network;
- said thermal conductivity detector includes a first resistor located at an inlet of said separation column and a second resistor located at an outlet of said separation column;
- and
- said column in which a plurality of posts are located, said posts configured to have an affinity for a compound to be detected.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.