Speciation of organolead compounds in water samples by GC-AAS after in situ butylation with tetrabutylammonium tetrabutylborate.

A simple and reliable analytical method for the determination of organolead compounds in water samples has been developed by means of a gas chromatographic-atomic absorption system (GC-AAS). The derivatization of the organolead cations, necessary before their determination, was directly achieved in the water samples by the reagent tetrabutylammonium tetrabutylborate. Hexane/pentane was used to extract the butylated tetraorganolead compounds. The organic layer was dried and purified with sodium sulfate, concentrated by evaporation and injected into a GC-AAS system. The effects of various parameters on the derivatization and extraction procedures were studied and discussed.