Comparative examination of analytical instruments for detecting pentachlorophenol in wood and environmental samples

Abstract

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is a manmade chemical that is widely present in the environment and is mostly used as a wood preservative. Therefore, to conduct remediation studies, it is imperative to determine the most effective PCP analytical technique. PCP can be analyzed using a variety of analytical tools, including non-destructible methods like X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and electrochemical sensors (EC), destructible tools like gas chromatography (GC), thin layer chromatography (TLC), colorimetry, ultraviolet–visible and infrared spectroscopy (UV–vis/IR), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). the colorimetric approach is less recommended because of its low sensitivity and precision, whereas TLC offers superior recovery rates and precision but is expensive, takes longer, and is unable to resolve complicated combinations. Higher recovery rates, sensitivity, precision, and superior separation are all offered by HPLC; however, its effectiveness is impacted by time, money, and solvent compatibility. The most favored destructible approach is GC because it is efficient in terms of both cost and time and offers superior precision and separation. Although XRF is frequently used in the wood industry to test PCP in treated wood and treating solutions, scientific research has avoided using it because of its high cost and ability to identify chemicals based only on their elemental composition—in the case of PCP, it is chloride. Among all methods, EC is shown to be more dependable than the other methods listed because it is extremely specialized, less expensive, and offers a faster response. It is possible to make more changes to the current analytical techniques, such as enhancing extraction techniques, creating a universal HPLC column, developing more affordable and high-precision EC electrodes, and evaluating a larger variety of samples from different matrices. This review has shed light on the many analytical tools available for determining PCP and the knowledge gaps in the field of study.