Volatilization of tin as stannane in anoxic environments

Abstract

Recent reports of volatilization of metals from the aquatic environment demonstrate a previously unsuspected loss from the aquatic metal budget. Volatilization can occur by various mechanisms. Arsenic volatilizes from the aquatic environment as trimethyl- and dimethylarsine formed by biomethylation1; plants and soils form volatile selenium compounds2; volatilization of mercury from the oceans might rival that of anthropogenic origin3; maritime air can contain a significantly higher fraction of alkyl-lead compounds to total lead than continental or urban air4. Finally, increasing evidence suggests the potential importance of tin volatilization through formation of tetramethyltin by chemical or biological methylation in the environment5–7. We recently described possible formation of tetramethyltin by the macroalgae Enteromorpha sp. under oxic conditions6. Here we examine the contribution of decaying algal material to environmental cycling of tin by describing formation of volatile stannane (SnH4) in anoxic environments.