HS-GC-FID: VOC Analysis of Commercial Paint | PerkinElmer
PerkinElmer

Application Note

HS-GC-FID: VOC Analysis of Commercial Paint

Introduction

When CASE chemicals like coatings and paints are formulated, pigments, binding agents, and additives are dissolved into a carrier solvent, often a volatile organic compound (VOC) or water. This solvent functions to lower the mixture’s viscosity, enabling it to coat a surface easily and evenly. Once applied to a surface, VOCs evaporate, leaving behind a coating of the paint’s nonvolatile fractions. A wide variety of VOCs are used in paint formulations including alcohols, ketones, and aromatic hydrocarbons, among others. Many governments regulate the release of VOCs into the atmosphere due to negative health outcomes from VOC exposure. This application note reports the quantitative analysis of VOC solvents in a commercial paint performed with the PerkinElmer GC 2400 System equipped with a flame ionization detector (FID), and headspace autosampler (HS).