Interference from elemental sulphur in the determination of organotins by gas chromatography with flame photometric detection

Elemental sulphur, a common constituent of marine sediments, has been shown to give dialkyl sulphides with the Grignard reagents commonly used to derivatize alkyltin species before their determination by gas chromatography with flame photometric detection (GC–FPD). Further, it has been demonstrated that even with the red filter for 610 nm (normally used for organotin compounds) fitted to the detector, sulphur compounds do give rise to an emission signal, which may be mistaken for tin emission from a pentylated or propylated alkyltin compound, as the respective retention times are in some cases quite close.