Volume: 4, 2025
4th International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: E021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL4.E021
Published online: 9 April 2025
ICDSUPL, 4, E021 (2025)
Detection of trace amounts of tin in environmental water samples by stripping voltammetry
Edyta Wlazłowska1*, Małgorzata Grabarczyk1, Marzena Fiałek1
1 Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
* Corresponding author: edyta.wlazlowska@mail.umcs.pl
Abstract
Tin is not a highly toxic element, only high concentrations or prolonged exposure to low concentrations can cause poisoning in humans. The main sources of tin poisoning are food or industrial areas. Tin is found in high concentrations in water and air. The WHO’s maximum tolerable level for tin in food is 250 μg g–1, and tin levels in environmental and biological samples cover a wide range, from μg g–1 to ng g–1 in canned foods and even pg g-1 in water. Therefore, a highly sensitive and selective method is required to reliably measure the tin content of real samples. Electrochemical methods have many advantages such as short analysis time, low instrument cost, high sensitivity, selectivity and the ability to analyze real samples directly without prior sample preparation. The aim of this study was to develop a sensitive and selective electrochemical method for the determination of Sn(II) ions in real environmental samples. Adsorptive stripping voltammetry has been proposed for the determination of tin using a complexing agent cupferron. The analytical procedure is based on the adsorptive accumulation of the Sn(II)-cupferron complex on the surface of a generated lead film on the working electrode. The working electrode used was a mixture of multi-walled carbon nanotubes, spherical glassy carbon powder and epoxy resin (MWCNT/SGCE). The method was optimized with respect to the main electrochemical parameters influencing the signal (base electrolyte, pH, cupric and Pb(II) ion concentrations, lead film formation potential and time, accumulation potential and time). The optimized analytical procedure gave a detection limit of 3.1 × 10–10 mol L–1 with an accumulation time of 95 s. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of tin in tap water, water from the Bystrzyca River and certified reference materials. The results obtained confirmed its suitability for use in the analysis of environmental samples, with recoveries ranging from 95.4% to 107% and relative deviations from 3.8% to 6.2%. In conclusion, a fast and sensitive AdSV method for the direct determination of Sn(II) in real samples has been developed, as confirmed by the satisfactory results obtained when analyzing real waters and certified reference materials. The utilization of an MWCNTS/SGC electrode for Sn(II) determination represented a significant advantage of this method, as it enabled the elimination of the toxic mercury electrodes that had been most commonly employed for tin determination by stripping voltammetry.
Keywords: adsorptive stripping voltammetry, eco-friendly working electrode, environmental water samples
How to cite
E. Wlazłowska, M. Grabarczyk, M. Fiałek, 2025. Detection of trace amounts of tin in environmental water samples by stripping voltammetry. In: 4th International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL4.E021