Indirect GC-MS Method via Alcoholysis Reaction for Rapid Detection of Organoaluminum Compounds and its Impurities: A Case Study of Triethylaluminium

Organoaluminum compounds have been employed as catalysts in many reactions. However, due to their high reactivity of the Al-C bond towards water or air, the accurate analysis and detection of organoaluminum compounds are still challenging. Here we demonstrate the possibility of rapidly and precisely detecting the purity and impurities of triethylaluminium (TEAL). An indirect GC-MS method via alcoholysis reaction using a designed alcoholysis reactor was adopted to detect and separate the main components and impurities of the synthesized TEAL. Previously, the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) methods were also selected to detect the main compounds in the synthesized TEAL. The impurities in TEAL was identified as n-butyl aluminum, and the purity of synthesized TEAL is 97.47 % with high accuracy (ca. 99 %). This work suggests a new strategy to detect the purity and impurities of some kind of hazardous compounds.