Analysis by desorption of volatile impurities from an ionic liquid solution in an unmodified gas chromatograph inlet

A procedure for using ionic liquids to determine volatile impurities in compounds or matrices that are soluble in an ionic liquid is described. Using a conventional autosampler a droplet of ionic liquid solution is suspended in the inlet of the gas chromatograph and analytes are desorbed onto a GC column using splitless injection conditions. Results are presented for 1,2-propanediol, nonane, N,N-dimethylacetamide, and mesitylene in two different compounds in the ionic liquids trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and trihexyltetradecylphosphonium dicyanamide.