Tributyltin oxide (TBTO) is an

organotin Organotin compounds or stannanes are chemical compounds based on tin with hydrocarbon substituents. Organotin chemistry is part of the wider field of organometallic chemistry. The first organotin compound was diethyltin diiodide (), discovered ...

compound chiefly used as a

biocide A biocide is defined in the European legislation as a chemical substance or microorganism intended to destroy, deter, render harmless, or exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses a sli ...

(

fungicide Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. A fungistatic inhibits their growth. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality ...

and

molluscicide Molluscicides () – also known as snail baits, snail pellets, or slug pellets – are pesticides against molluscs, which are usually used in agriculture or gardening, in order to control gastropod pests specifically slugs and snails which damag ...

), especially a

wood preservative Wood easily degrades without sufficient preservation. Apart from structural wood preservation measures, there are a number of different chemical preservatives and processes (also known as "timber treatment", "lumber treatment" or "pressure treat ...

. Its chemical formula is C₄H₉)₃Snsub>2O. It is a colorless viscous liquid. It is poorly soluble in water (20 ppm) but highly soluble in

organic solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...

s. It is a potent skin irritant. Historically, tributyltin oxide's biggest application was as a marine anti-

biofouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers tha ...

agent. Concerns over toxicity of these compounds have led to a worldwide ban by the

International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...

. It is now considered a severe marine

pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like o ...

and a Substance of Very High Concern by the EU.Organotin Chemistry, Second Edition. Alwyn G. Davies, 2004, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. Today, it is mainly used in wood preservationDavies, Alwyn George. (2004) Organotin Chemistry, 2nd Edition Weinheim: Wiley-VCH.

References

External links

National Pollutant Inventory Fact Sheet for organotins
* {{PPDB, 2585 PBT substances Fungicides Molluscicides Organotin compounds Oxides Tin(IV) compounds Butyl compounds