Simultaneous determination of trace benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles in water by large-volume injection/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Benzotriazole (BTR) and benzothiazole (BTH) derivatives have been acknowledged as emerging pollutants due to their widespread contamination in the environment and their adverse effects on aquatic organisms. A rapid and reliable analytical method, based on solid phase extraction (SPE) and large-volume injection, derivatized with N-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-N-methyltrifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA), and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), was developed for the determination of six 1,2,3-benzotriazoles and six 1,3-benzothiazoles in aquatic matrices. It was demonstrated that MTBSTFA had a better overall performance compared with N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (MSTFA) and N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA). The method detection limits in tap water, river water and effluent samples were 0.050-1.3 ng L−1, 0.057-1.8 ng L−1 and 0.10-4.0 ng L−1, respectively. Mean recoveries of the target analytes at different aquatic matrices, ranged from 43% to 131% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 17%. The method was successfully employed to river water and effluent sewage samples collected from a sewage treatment plant in Germany. Seven target compounds were detected with the maximum concentration up to 2.9 μg L−1 for 4-Me-BTR in the effluent sample.