Derivatization of 10-chloro-5,10-dihydrophenarsazine (Adamsite) for gas chromatographic analysis

Two methods are presented for the derivatization of Adamsite (578-94-9): bromination to give 2,2',4,4',6,6'-hexabromodophenylamine (64524-09-0) - method A - and pyrolytic ethylation with dimethylformamide diethylacetal (1188-33-6) to give 10-ethyl-5,10-dihydrophenarsazine (53573-13-0) - method B. For the gas chromatographic analysis, atomic emission and mass spectrometric detection were applied. With regard to practicability and reliability, method B proved to be superior to method A.