3. Results and discussion
The gold column was not employed in the optimization studies, for which 1.0 mL of the sample (gasoline in ethanol, 1:1) or 1.0 mL of the standard solution, spiked with 6.0 µg L− 1 Hg, followed by the addition of 0.5 mL 1.5 mol L− 1 HCl, was used. The gasoline samples used were named C1 and C2. The retention, pyrolysis and atomization temperatures used were, respectively, 100 °C, 150 °C and 800 °C.