Abstract:

This study aims to establish a detection method for 15 volatile organic compounds （VOCs） in cleaning agents based on headspace injection - gas chromatography/mass spectrometry （HS-GC-MS）. The multi-response surface method was adopted to simultaneously refine three key analytical dimensions: headspace equilibrium thermodynamics, chromatographic elution trajectory, and mass spectrometry acquisition parameters. Developed rapid detection methods covering multiple types of VOCs such as chloroform, benzene series and halogenated hydrocarbons. Innovatively, the simulated matrix labeling method was adopted to eliminate matrix interference, and a dual chromatographic columns （Rxi-5Sil MS and DB-624） cross-verification system was constructed to enhance qualitative reliability. Methodological validation shows that when the linear range is 1-500 μg/mL, the correlation coefficients （R²） of each compound are all better than 0.999. The method detection limit （LOD） ranges from 0.02 to 0.14 μg/mL. The recovery rates of spiked products are 82.8%-116.0%, and the relative standard deviations （RSDs） of intraday precision are all better than 5%. Actual sample testing reveals that the detection rates of trichloromethane and toluene are the highest among commercially available cleaning agents, with the maximum content of trichloromethane reaching 0.53 μg/mL.

Key words: headspace method, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, volatile organic solvents, detergents, matrix effect