Determination of organotins in natural waters by toluene extraction and graphite furnace AAS

The determination of tributyltin in natural waters by extraction into toluene and graphite-furnace AAS measurement of tin has been investigated. The effect of pH on the extraction of mono-, di- and tributyltin and triphenyltin has been examined and the optimum conditions for the estimation of tributyltin assessed. The AAS performance is greatly improved by using furnace tubes pretreated by soaking in sodium tungstate solution. Such pretreatment is essential if low detection limits are to be attained. Extraction of the tributyltin from aqueous media resulted in a marked signal enhancement (irrespective of the type of furnace tube), which varied according to the nature of the aqueous solution. The enhancement is believed to result from water in the toluene extract activating the tube surface. Methods for the estimation of tributyltin in waters, appropriate for screening samples as part of routine monitoring programmes, are described. With a 1-litre sample, a limit of detection of approximately 4 ng/l. was attained for tin. The relative standard deviation of six replicate analyses of sea-water containing 170 ng/l. tin (present as tributyltin) was 1.5%.