Innovative composite silicone-based material for the passive sampling of polar and apolar pesticides: in situ applications

A new silicone-based material (called PACSiR) was synthetized and evaluated for the passive sampling of pesticides in water. Laboratory experiments showed the increased sorption capacities of PACSiR compared to silicone rubber (SR) for polar pesticides. After a calibration step, both silicone and PACSiR passive samplers were deployed in French rivers of agricultural watersheds to access occurrence of pesticides in waters and to determine time weighted average concentrations in surface waters.