electron-capture detector

The electron-capture detector is a type of gas chromatographic detector that senses solute vapors as they emerge from a column. It works by using a radioactive source to produce a stream of electrons within a potential field. When materials containing specific types of atoms, particularly halogens like fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine, are present in the gas stream, they capture electrons from this stream. This electron capture measurably reduces the current flowing through the detector. This makes the electron-capture detector particularly useful for detecting substances like chlorinated pesticides. Electron capture is also a process of radioactive disintegration known as beta decay.12