A Doubly Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoscavenger for the Analytical Extraction of Triphenyltin from Water

Abstract

A new analytical procedure has been developed for the determination of triphenyltin(TPT), diphenyltin (DPT), and monophenyltin (MPT) in water samples. The method is based on the use of the dual functionalization of mesoporous silica with diol and C18 alkane groups for the collection of TPT and its derivatives, DPT and MPT, from water samples, followed by hexylation of the target matrices using the Grignard reagent and quantification by gas chromatography with pulsed flame photometric detection. The nanoscavenger concept replaces conventional solid- and liquid-phase extractants with nanosized particles that can be readily dispersed in aqueous samples. Analyte partitioning between the solid and liquid phases occurs as the solid moves through the sample as a colloidal sol. By tailoring the size of the particles to approximately 250 nm in diameter, they can be readily recovered together with the analytes by simple filtration or centrifugation. Recoveries of TPT, DPT, and MPT chloride spiked matrices ranging from 89.3±2.1 to 97.1±1.3 in seawater samples (n= 9 samples). The limit of detection obtained was typically in the range of 0.5–5 ng Sn/L. The proposed method shows excellent linearity in the range of 0.5–2 ng Sn/L and good repeatability (RSD ≤ 5% at 0.02 ng TPT (as Sn)/L). The method performance is demonstrated with real seawater samples.