| Abstract: | A hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS) procedure is described for the analysis of tributyltin (TBT) in sea water. TBT is first converted to its volatile hydride form by reaction with sodium borohydride, followed by cryogenic trapping at ?196°C, and finally detection by atomic absorption spectrometry using an electrically heated quartz atomization cell. The linear range of calibration is 5-250 ng TBT (as tin). At the 5-ng level, the relative standard deviation (RSD) is 13%. The absolute detection limit (3σ) is 1.8 ng. Based on a sample volume of 500 mL, this value corresponds to a concentration detection limit 3.6 ng L?1 TBT This method has been successfully applied to the analysis of TBT in sea water collected from Keelung and Kaohsiung harbors. |
