Electrochemistry of triphenyltin acetate at a mercury-film glassy carbon electrode

The electrochemical behaviour of triphenyltin acetate was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, differential-pulse voltammetry and controlled potential electrolysis at a mercury-film glassy carbon electrode. Effects on the electrochemical response of the composition of supporting electrolytes, pH, electrode rotation speed and triphenyltin acetate concentration were determined. The electrochemical reduction of this compound was found to involve a preliminary adsorption process (E_peak ≈ ?0.7 V vs. SCE), the reduction of triphenyltin acetate to the triphenyltin radical (E_peak ≈ ?1.0 V) and reduction of the radical to the triphenyltin anion (E_peak ≈ ?1.4 V). A procedure for the determination of trace amounts of this compound by differential-pulse anodic stripping voltammetry in 50% (v/v) ethanol with 0.1 M acetic acid + 0.1 M ammonia solution was developed and applied to the analysis of a commercial powder formulation and water and fish samples. The limit of detection was 2.5 × 10^?9 M triphenyltin acetate.