Chromatographic behavior of pyrithiones

Pyrithione biocides are currently viewed as a major prospect for the replacement of tributyltin antifoulants in ship paints. The chromatographic behavior of 1-hydroxy-2-pyridinethione (pyrithione, PT), bis(2-pyridinyl)disulfide 1,1′-dioxide (PT2), and the metal complexes zinc [Zn(PT)2], iron [Fe(PT)3] and copper [Cu(PT)2] pyrithione, were investigated by means of UV–vis spectroscopy, ESI-MSn, HPLC-DAD and HPLC-ESI-MSnD. This revealed transformations of the analytes, which affect the development of adequate methods for species or environmental analysis of pyrithiones. PT transforms into copper- or iron- containing complexes and/or the oxidation product PT2, depending on the type of the stationary phase used in chromatographic analysis. Speciation complicates direct chromatography of [Zn(PT)2] and [Fe(PT)3].