Exploration of optical fibres as a carrier for new benzene and toluene matrix-free reference materials

To meet high expectations concerning precision and accuracy of reference materials, preparation of matrix-free reference materials using thermal decomposition-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) was proposed in this study. In the paper, the results obtained in preparation of the new reference materials for benzene and toluene are presented, based on the thermal decomposition technique of compounds chemically bound to the surface of optical fibre segments. The results obtained at various stages of the research procedure (homogeneity, stability) confirmed the possibility of using prepared laboratory samples of materials as reference materials for benzene and toluene. For the prepared batch of materials, reference values 1.26 ± 0.91 (ng/fibre) for benzene and 11.3 ± 7.4 (ng/fibre) for toluene were determined.