Sampling and probing volatile metal(loid) species in natural waters by in-situ purge and cryogenic trapping followed by gas chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (P-CT-GC-ICP/MS)
D. Amouroux et al., Sampling and probing volatile metal(loid) species in natural waters by in-situ purge and cryogenic trapping followed by gas chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (P-CT-GC-ICP/MS), ANALYT CHIM, 377(2-3), 1998, pp. 241-254
An in situ purge and cryogenic trapping method for the pre-concentration of
volatile metal and metalloid compounds dissolved in natural waters was dev
eloped. The analytes were collected in cryogenic trap stored at -196 degree
s C until analysis in the laboratory. Cryogenic traps were then introduced
into a flash desorption, cryofocusing gas chromatography system hyphenated
to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP/MS). This multi-ele
ment detection technique allowed to determine volatile compounds of selecte
d elements in aqueous solution simultaneously by scanning their correspondi
ng stable isotopes.
Blanks and recoveries for the whole analytical procedure of several volatil
e compounds of selected elements (Me2Se, Me2Se2, Me2Hg, Et2Hg, Me4Sn, Et4Sn
, Me4Pb, Et4Pb) were determined and are discussed. Method detection limits
for 1 l water sample were estimated for Se, Hg, Sn and Pb volatile species
to be as low as 10.0 (0.8), 1.0 (0.2), 0.4 (0.05) and 0.4 (0.08) fmol/l (pg
/l), respectively.
The occurrence of volatile compounds of selenium, tin, mercury and lead was
evidenced and investigated in three major European estuaries such as the G
ironde (F), the Rhine (NL) and the Scheldt (B/NL). The presence of these vo
latile species in natural waters seems to be related to both exchanges betw
een environmental compartments and anthropogenic inputs. (C) 1998 Elsevier
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