[The determination of phenols in water: gas chromatographic identification by means of the electron affinity (author's transl)].

The electron affinities for 98 phenolic compounds have been determined using an electron capture detector (ECD) and a flame ionisation detector (FID). The signals of the two detectors were registered simultanously on a two channel recorder by splitting the gas stream at the column outlet for the ECD and the FID (1:1). The peak areas were corrected for equal concentration and instrument parameters and the relation peak area (ECD)/peak area (FID) was used as a measure of electron affinity. The values thus measured are given in a table. Among the phenolics found in water there are several groups with high or very high electron affinity, e.g. dichlorophenols, trichlorophenols, tetra- and pentachlorophenol; the values of these compounds are about 10(2), 10(3), 10(4), and 3 times 10(4) times higher, respectively, than that of phenol itself and its alkyl derivatives. For the mono- and dinitrophenols the corresponding figures are between 10(2) (o-nitrophenol) and 5 times 10(3) (dinitrophenols). A comparatively high value was measured for salicylic aldehyde: about 2.5 times 10(2) compared with phenol. The application of these values in the identification of some peaks in the gas chromatogram of a river water extract is demonstrated.