CHEMICAL FINGERPRINTING OF ADSORBED ORGANIC MATERIALS ON METAL-SURFACES

The adsorption of dissolved organic material from estuarine water to metal surfaces is a selective process; i. e. , not all organic species present in water sorb to surfaces. Both the chemical identity and the quantity of adsorbed material appear to be substratum dependent during the first hour of immersion. Strips of titanium, aluminum, copper/nickel, and stainless steel were exposed to estuarine waters of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, over brief time periods for the purpose of studying adsorbed organic material. Surfaces were characterized by bubble contact angle measurements, corrosion potentials, and scanning electron microscopy before exposure. The adsorbed material was analyzed using pyrolysis-chemical ionization mass spectrometry.