A simple method for synthesis of organotin species to investigate extraction procedures in sediments by isotope dilution-gas chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
Sunil J. Kumar, Solomon Tesfalidet, James P. Snell, Dong Nguyen Van and Wolfgang Frech
Abstract: A rapid method for the synthesis of phenyltin species based on the phenylation of tin iodide was developed and a standard of 124Sn, enriched monophenyltin (MPhT), diphenyltin (DPhT) and triphenyltin (TPhT) was produced. Isotope enriched species were added to and equilibrated with the certified reference material BCR 646 to evaluate different extraction procedures currently in use for the determination of organic tin species in sediments. Samples were measured by gas chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC-ICP-MS) with species specific isotope dilution (SSID) calibration. For TPhT measurement results agreed with the certified values for extraction methods using tropolone in diethyl ether alone or in the presence of NaCl and HCl as well as with 50% HBr. However, with 50% HBr, concentrations obtained for DPhT and MPhT were above the upper limit (2 ) of the certification. The stability of phenyltin species was studied by comparing their signal magnitudes in spike solutions generated directly after derivatisation with those obtained after applying the extraction–derivatisation procedures. Degradation of phenyltin species was matrix dependent and appeared for most of the extraction methods investigated. For water standards and BCR 646, extraction with methanol combined with dichloromethane or methanol combined with acetic acid gave no degradation when applied with less than 20 min ultrasonication. Extraction efficiencies for these two methods were however low for the BCR 646 matrix, in particular for DPhT and MPhT.