Samenvatting

An attempt was made to develop a method for the determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and chemical sample desorption of the 3M 3500 passive diffusion sampler. The method included a complex mixture of 205 polar and non-polar compounds ranging from boiling points of – 24 ˚C to 286 ˚C. A selective ion method was established to achieve peak separation based on mass spectra for most compounds, after which the performance of the method was validated for the following parameters; limit of detection and quantitation and reproducibility. In addition, sampling rate and recovery coefficients were determined for every compound as these are crucial constants in the conversion calculation of analyte mass in air. After validation it was concluded that the method performance was insufficient for routine analysis and needed substantial improvements. Further research is required to develop and validate a functional method of analysis.