Characterization of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate by Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectrometry

With quantitative conversion to volatile derivatives,substance such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) that is difficult to analyze can be separated by conventional techniques and then be characterized. In this paper,the methods and procedures in which perfluorooctane sulfonic acids were converted to corresponding sulfonic ester by reaction with triethylorthoacetate(TEOA) in the presence of solvent were described,and then PFOS was analyzed as ethyl ester derivatives. Mass spectra (MS) were generated using electron ionization (EI) mode. And the EI spectra of the volatile derivatives show ions characteristic of both the fluorinated hydrocarbon and the sulfonic ester portion of the molecules.