Direct hydride derivatization of methyl- and ethylmercury chlorides in aqueous solution with KBH_4

Article type: Research Article

Authors: He, Bin | Jiang, Gui-bin

Affiliations: Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10085, China

Note: [] Corresponding author

Abstract: A convenient hydride derivatization procedure of methyl-and ethylmercury chlorides to volatile hydrides was reported. In sealed vials methylmercury and ethylmercury compounds in acidic aqueous solutions were converted into their volatile forms by the reaction with potassium tetrahydroborate (KBH_4) and elvolved to the headspace of the vials. The gaseous analytes in the headspace were extracted and concentrated by solid phase microextraction (SPME) and injected into gas chromatography (GC) for separation and identified by mass selective detector (MS).

Keywords: hydride derivatization, methyl- and ethylmercury, gas chromatography, mass selective detector

Journal: Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 275-278, 2000