Barrier Discharge Ionization Detector in Gas Chromatography: A Review on Applications

The barrier discharge ionization detector (BID) is one of the latest detection technologies used in gas chromatography (GC). 306 papers from 2012 to 2021 with GC-BID analyses were considered. An overview of the main applications with the BID, considering the trends for the most common analyses, explored compounds, extraction methods, and comparative studies with other detectors is shown. Interest in BID applications has grown, and the number of publications reflects this. Despite having the potential to analyze different compounds, gases are more explored, mainly H2, CH4, and CO. The BID should be further explored for water analysis, as studies show its good performance in larger quantities and at the level of traces. Most of the determinations of these compounds were applied in studies focused on CO2 reduction (by photocatalysis or electro-reduction) and biogas (for CH4). BID is effective for determinations on the order of mmol to µmol. Headspace extraction (HS) is most often applied BID analysis. Reduced dynamic range and nonlinear response to carbon mass are some disadvantages to BID. On the other hand, the BID has a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) 100 times higher than thermal conductivity detector (TCD) (for inorganic gases and water), a high linear sensitivity for dodecane (LOD less than 1.0 pgC/sec) and other compounds (being able to reach µg/L). Combined with simple extraction methods such as HS, the BID allows quick and simple analysis with great sensitivity, in addition, it is a good alternative for the analysis of inorganic gases and water compared to usual detectors.