Pentafluorobenzoic anhydride as a derivatizing agent for alcohols and hydroxy fatty acid methyl esters detected by electron capture in gas chromatography.

Pentafluorobenzoate derivatives of primary and secondary alcohols have been prepared using pentafluorobenzoic anhydride. The gas chromatographic properties of the homologous series of the methyl esters of 2-hydroxycarboxylic acids from C12 to C26 have been studied on the high-temperature stationary phase Poly-S 179. The suitability of determining trace amounts of these compounds using gas chromatography with an electron-capture detector and with electron-capture negative-ion chemical-ionization mass spectrometry is discussed.