Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Analysis of High-Purity Volatile Inorganic Hydrides

The review is devoted to the capabilities of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry in the analysis of high-purity volatile hydrides of naturally occurring and isotopically enriched compositions. Problems related to experimental techniques, chromatographic separation, identification, and quantitative determination of impurities are discussed. The application of this method has significantly expanded data coverage on the nature, number, and limiting possibilities of the determination of impurities in volatile inorganic hydrides. The identified impurities are compounds of various classes. Among them are atmospheric gases; saturated, unsaturated, and aromatic C1–C9 hydrocarbons; chlorine- and fluorine-containing C1–C4 hydrocarbons; homologues and alkyl derivatives of hydrides; Si2–Si4 siloxanes; fluorosiloxanes; oxygen-containing hydrocarbons; sulfur-containing substances; and hydrides of other elements. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis made it possible to detect the presence of impurities in isotopically enriched silicon and germanium hydrides, which are their molecular isobars. The use of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry in the analysis of high-purity inorganic hydrides makes it possible to reach the detection limits of impurities of 10–8–10–5 mol %.