juhtivusdetektor

A juhtivusdetektor, or conductivity detector, is an analytical instrument used to measure the electrical conductivity of a sample. It is commonly employed in liquid chromatography (LC) and other analytical techniques to detect and quantify substances that dissociate into ions in a solvent. The fundamental principle of operation relies on the fact that dissolved ionic compounds increase the electrical conductivity of a solution.

The detector typically consists of a flow cell containing two electrodes. As the sample passes through the cell, its conductivity is measured by applying a voltage across the electrodes and measuring the resulting current. The magnitude of the current is directly proportional to the concentration of ionic species in the sample. By comparing the conductivity of the mobile phase to the conductivity of the sample eluted from a chromatographic column, peaks corresponding to analyte ions can be observed.

Juhtivusdetektorid are highly sensitive to ionic compounds but are generally insensitive to non-ionic substances, making them particularly useful for analyzing samples containing a mixture of both. However, they are susceptible to changes in mobile phase composition and temperature, which can affect the background conductivity. Therefore, careful control of these parameters is crucial for accurate and reproducible measurements. They are widely used in various fields, including environmental monitoring, pharmaceutical analysis, and food and beverage testing, for the detection of inorganic ions, organic acids, and bases.