The analysis of alkyl aryl sulfonates by micro desulfonation and gas chromatography

The structural analysis of micro quantities of alkyl aryl sulfonates by presently known chemical and spectroscopic techniques has been an exceedingly difficult task. The formidable nature of such analyses is due largely to the essential nonvolatility of the sulfonates, a fact which precludes the application of gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric techniques. The present paper describes an approach wherein gas chromatography is made applicable to analysis of micro quantities of sulfonates. The key to the approach is a microchemical desulfonation procedure. This process yields the parent hydrocarbon, which is volatile and hence amenable to analysis by gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Presented in part at the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, 1960.