Our latest research marks a significant advance in analytical environmental chemistry: With the successful coupling of ion chromatography and optical emission spectrometry (IC-ICP-OES), we demonstrate an innovative method for species analysis of five inorganic bromine and chlorine compounds that typically occur as disinfection by-products during oxidative water treatment.
The developed technique impresses with its high sensitivity, excellent linearity, and low detection limits, and foremost enables the simultaneous differentiation of critical analytes – a significant improvement over conventional detection methods. The method is robust against common interferences, which is why precise quantification can be achieved without time-consuming sample preparation, even under demanding matrix conditions, such as those typically found in pool water samples.
The main fields of application for this technology are in ultrapure and pool water monitoring, particularly given the prospect of extending the methodology to other halogenated organic compounds or more complex matrices in the future. This interdisciplinary collaboration between research groups at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Clausthal University of Technology, and Innovatec Gerätetechnik as an industrial partner effectively demonstrates how academic research can be combined with specific application benefits in a methodologically profound way.
The article was published open access in the scientific journal Analytica Chimica Acta and is free to access under the following link:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2025.344185
