Determination of methylcyclopentadienylmanganese tricarbonyl (MMT) in aqueous samples by SPME-GC-AED

Solid phase microextraction (SPME) was successfuly applied to the determination of the gasoline additive methylcyclopentadienylmanganese tricarbonyl (MMT) in aqueous samples. The procedure is simple, efficient and solvent free. Ultra-trace levels of MMT (pg l–1) in water can be determined with the combination of SPME and gas chromatography–plasma atomic emission detection. The linear range is between 1 and 1000 pg l–1 with relative detection limits of 0.3 pg l–1 (as Mn) of MMT in water. The precision for replicate analyses (n = 4) of an MMT solution (10 pg l–1 as Mn) was 7.1% (RSD). Different kinds of aqueous samples were collected and extracted for the determination of MMT with the SPME technique. In spite of its short half-life in the presence of light, MMT was found in all highway runoff and sewage samples. The liquid–liquid extraction method was also used for MMT determination in highway runoff and lake water samples and the results from the two techniques were comparable.