Aqueous ethylation of organotin compounds in simple solution for speciation analysis by cryofocussing and detection by atomic absorption spectrometry — comparison with hydride generation

Abstract

A 2³ factorial experimental design has been used to determine the optimum reaction conditions for organotin ethylation in simple aqueous solutions for speciation by Cryogenic Trapping/ Gas Chromatography/Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (CT/GC/AAS). The factors chosen and their levels of variation (− and +) were the pH of the solution (levels 3 and 5), the amount of NaBEt₄ added (levels 1 and 9 mg) to the organotins and the time of ethylation reaction (levels 10 and 20 min). Optimum conditions were investigated for monomethyltin (MMT), diethyltin (DET) and dibutyltin (DBT) in mixed solution at a concentration of 10 ng of each Sn compound in 50 ml of solution (200 ng·l⁻¹). The influence of the different factors on the yield of the ethylation reaction in the ranges investigated depends on the degree of substitution and the nature of the alkyl groups of the organotins. The ethylation reaction for DET and DBT is more efficient at high pH levels, MMT gives higher yields at lower pH. Both MMT and DET require a high amount of reagent, while reagent concentration has no real influence on the DBT signal. Comparison of hydride generation and ethylation as derivatisation procedures for organotin speciation has been performed in simple solutions. Under these analytical conditions, hydride generation is shown to be slightly more sensitive than ethylation by a factor of 1.4 for MMT and DET and 2 for DBT. However derivatisation using ethylation provides more reproducible results and is not affected by inorganic interferents.