Chromatographic Analysis of Fluorine in an Inorganic Multicomponent Polluting Substance Measurement Problem

In absorption chromatography, fused peaks may arise due to incomplete resolution of two or more eluting species. In figure 1, the chromatogram of an inorganic multicomponent polluting substance, acquired by means of a Dionex Ionic chromatographic system, is shown. The problem consists in quantitative evaluation of fluorine content, whose retention time is 3 mn, on the basis of the measured chromatogram. As noticed in figure 1, the peak of fluorine component is completely overlapped and fused with the peak of another component whose retention time is 2.78 mn. Consequently, the estimates of area or peak height of the fluorine, which is an indication of its amount, can not be quantitated correctly and may be subject to serious errors.