Increased flow rate compatibility for universal acoustic flame detection in liquid chromatography

The liquid chromatography (LC) flow rate tolerance of the universal Acoustic Flame Detector (AFD) is characterized and significantly expanded through using larger bore burners. For example, increasing the burner i.d. from 1.00 to 4.00 mm increases the AFD upper flow rate limit from 20 to 100 μL/min. While signal and noise each reduce as the burner i.d. widens, the best current performance is obtained with a 2.30 mm i.d. burner. This approach also allows AFD operation over a broader range of mobile phase temperatures. As a result, the overall increased flow rate compatibility of the detector can facilitate improved chromatography and further development of LC-AFD applications.