US EPA

3784818 

Journal Article 

Development of an analytical method for a trace analysis of organotin compounds and its application to a survey on environmental pollution 

Mizuishi, K 

1999 

1 

Bunseki Kagaku / Analysis Chemistry
ISSN: 0525-1931 

48 

11 

1029-1030 

WOS:000083639300012 

A gas chromatographic method of analysis of trace and highly polar organotin compounds is problematic, and generally delivatization methods have been used. For a simple, accurate, selective and sensitive determination of organotin compounds in environmental samples, a direct GC analysis for organotin halides was studied. A GC method using a packed column pretreated with a hydrogen halide, such as hydrogen chloride (HCl) or hydrogen bromide (HBr), was first developed for the analysis of tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltim (TPhT) chlorides. Then, the method was transferred to capillary-column separation. A method using an apolar capillary GC column and a flame photometric detector was developed for selective determination. Spiking of the column was carried out by doping a dilute methanolic HBr solution into the GC system prior to the injection of the standard or sample solution. The combination of the GC method developed to MS detection using SIM-NICI showed sufficient sensitivity to determine trace levels of TBT and TPhT in environmental aquatic samples. The direct GC procedure became a simpler, less time consuming, and very sensitive technique for the determination of organotin halides in environmental samples. This technique is also applicapable to the determination of other polar organometalic compounds. The direct determination of methyl mercury as a halide was established by the simple treatment of a GC column with dilute HBr solution. 

organotin halides; ultratrace analysis; rapid analysis; non-derivatization; direct capillary GC; electron capture detection; NICI-MS