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Working Methods Paper: Critical considerations with respect to the identification of tin species in the environment
Author(s) -
Quevauviller Philippe,
Ritsema Rob,
Morabito Roberto,
Dirkx Wilfried M. R.,
Chiavarini Salvatore,
Bayona José M.,
Donard Olivier F. X.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
applied organometallic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1099-0739
pISSN - 0268-2605
DOI - 10.1002/aoc.590080607
Subject(s) - chemistry , tin , sediment , environmental chemistry , biogeochemical cycle , transmethylation , hydride , identification (biology) , chromatography , methylation , organic chemistry , metal , ecology , paleontology , biochemistry , gene , biology
Biogeochemical pathways of tin species in the environment are still controversial, e.g. with regard to methylation and transmethylation phenomena, owing to the fact that the identification of methylated tin‐compounds is often difficult. The previous tentative identification of a mixed methylbutyltin compound in sediment and biological samples by GC/AAS after hydride generation gave an illustration of this problem. This compound was previously identified in sediments by other authors and also suspected to occur in a contaminated sediment sample from the Boyardville Marina, France. The retention time obtained by GC/AAS corresponded to the actual retention time of a mixed methylbutyltin calibrant. However, additional checks demonstrated that the compound detected was actually monophenyltin. This evidence was produced by a thorough analysis of a selected sediment sample by alternative techniques such as GC/AAS and GC/AES after pentylation, GC/FPD and GC/MS. The results presented highlight the need for a full identification of compounds to avoid mis‐interpretation.