Yuemei Cui

Solid-phase extraction of iron(III) with an ion-imprinted functionalized silica gel sorbent prepared by a surface imprinting technique

A new Fe(III)-imprinted amino-functionalized silica gel sorbent was prepared by a surface imprinting technique for selective solid-phase extraction (SPE) of Fe(III) prior to its determination by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Compared with non-imprinted polymer particles, the ion-imprinted polymers (IIPs) had higher selectivity and adsorption capacity for Fe(III). The maximum static adsorption capacity of the ion-imprinted and non-imprinted sorbent for Fe(III) was 25.21 and 5.10mg g(-1), respectively. The largest selectivity coefficient of the Fe(III)-imprinted sorbent for Fe(III) in the presence of Cr(III) was over 450. The relatively selective factor (alpha(r)) values of Fe(III)/Cr(III) were 49.9 and 42.4, which were greater than 1. The distribution ratio (D) values of Fe(III)-imprinted polymers for Fe(III) were greatly larger than that for Cr(III). The detection limit (3sigma) was 0.34microg L(-1). The relative standard deviation of the method was 1.50% for eight replicate determinations. The method was validated by analyzing two certified reference materials (GBW 08301 and GBW 08303), the results obtained is in good agreement with standard values. The developed method was also successfully applied to the determination of trace iron in plants and water samples with satisfactory results.

Tris(2-aminoethyl) amine functionalized silica gel for solid-phase extraction and preconcentration of Cr(III), Cd(II) and Pb(II) from waters

A new tris(2-aminoethyl) amine (TREN) functionalized silica gel (SG-TREN) was prepared and investigated for selective solid-phase extraction (SPE) of trace Cr(III), Cd(II) and Pb(II) prior to its determination by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Identification of the surface modification was characterized and performed on the basis of FT-IR. The separation/preconcentration conditions of analytes were investigated, including effects of pH, the shaking time, the sample flow rate and volume, the elution condition and the interfering ions. At pH 4, the maximum adsorption capacity of Cr(III), Cd(II) and Pb(II) onto the SG-TREN were 32.72, 36.42 and 64.61 mg g(-1), respectively. The adsorbed metal ions were quantitatively eluted by 5 mL of 0.1 mol L(-1) HCl. Common coexisting ions did not interfere with the separation. According to the definition of International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the detection limits (3sigma) of this method for Cr(III), Cd(II) and Pb(II) were 0.61, 0.14 and 0.55 ng mL(-1), respectively. The relative standard deviation under optimum conditions is less than 4.0% (n=11). The application of this modified silica gel to preconcentration trace Cr(III), Cd(II) and Pb(II) of two water samples gave high accurate and precise results.

Selective solid-phase extraction and analysis of trace-level Cr(III), Fe(III), Pb(II), and Mn(II) Ions in wastewater using diethylenetriamine-functionalized carbon nanotubes dispersed in graphene oxide colloids.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MCNTs) were dispersed in graphene oxide (GO) colloids to be further functionalized with diethylenetriamine (DETA), resulting in GO-MCNTs-DETA nanocomposites for the solid-phase extraction and analysis of Cr(III), Fe(III), Pb(II), and Mn(II) ions at the trace levels in wastewater. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) indicates that this new solid-phase sorbent could facilitate the maximum static adsorption capacities of 5.4, 13.8, 6.6 and 9.5 mg g(-1) for Cr(III), Fe(III), Pb(II), and Mn(II) ions, respectively, showing the adsorption capacity up to 95% within about 30 min. Moreover, the detection limits of the GO-MCNTs-DETA-based analysis method were found to be 0.16, 0.50, 0.24 and 0.38 ng mL(-1) for Cr(III), Fe(III), Pb(II), and Mn(II) ions, respectively, with the relative standard deviation of lower than 3.0% (n=5). Importantly, common coexisting ions showed no significant interference on the separation and pre-concentration of these heavy metal ions at pH 4.0. Subsequently, the GO-MCNTs-DETA sorbent was successfully employed for the separation and analysis of trace-level Cr(III), Fe(III), Pb(II), and Mn(II) ions in wastewater samples yielding 75-folds concentration factors.

A pre-enrichment procedure using diethyldithiocarbamate-modified TiO2 nanoparticles for the analysis of biological and natural water samples by ICP-AES

In this article, a new method that utilizes a diethyldithiocarbamate-modified nanometre TiO2 (TiO2–DDTC) as solid-phase extractant has been developed for simultaneous preconcentration of trace Cu(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) prior to measurement by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The separation/preconcentration conditions of analytes, which include the effects of pH, sample flow rate and volume, elution conditions, and interfering ions on the recovery of the analytes, were investigated. At pH 5, the adsorption capacity of modified nanometre TiO2–DDTC was found to be 6.2, 19, 4.7, and 6.0 mg/g for Cu(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II), respectively. According to the definition of IUPAC, the detection limits (3σ) of this method for Cu(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) were 0.41, 1.7, 0.39, and 0.52 ng/mL, respectively. The proposed method achieved satisfied results when applied to the determinations of trace Cu(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) in biological and natural water samples.

Chemically modified attapulgite with asparagine for selective solid-phase extraction and preconcentration of Fe(III) from environmental samples

A new method that utilizes asparagine modified attapulgite as a solid phase extractant has been developed for preconcentration of trace Fe(III) prior to the measurement by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Characterization of the surface modification was performed on the basis of Fourier transform infrared spectra. The separation/preconcentration conditions of the analyte were investigated, including the pH value, the shaking time, the sample fl ow rate and volume, the elution condition and the interfering ions. At pH 4, the new adsorbent had relatively high capacity and enrichment factor compared to other methods reported so far. The adsorbed Fe(III) was quantitatively eluted by 2 mL of 0.5 mol L(-1) HCl. Common coexisting ions did not interfere with the separation. The detection limit of the method was 0.19 microg L(-1). The relative standard deviation was 3.4% (n=8) which indicated that the method had good precision for the analysis of trace Fe(III) in solution samples. The method was validated using two certified reference materials and has been applied for the determination of trace Fe(III) in biological and natural water samples with satisfactory results.

Silica gel surface modified with sulfanilamide for selective solid-phase extraction of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II)

A new chelating matrix has been prepared by immobilising sulfanilamide (SA) on silica gel (SG) surface modified with 3-chloropropyltrimethoxysilane as a sorbent for the solid-phase extraction (SPE) Cu(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II). The determination of metal ions in aqueous solutions was carried out by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Experimental conditions for effective sorption of trace levels of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II) were optimised with respect to different experimental parameters using the batch and column procedures. The presence of common coexisting ions does not affect the sorption capacities. The maximum sorption capacity of the sorbent at optimum conditions was found to be 34.91, 19.07 and 23.62 mg g−1 for Cu(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II), respectively. The detection limit of the method defined by IUPAC was found to be 1.60, 0.50 and 0.61 µg L−1 for Cu(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II), respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the method under optimum conditions was 4.0% (n = 8). The method was applied to the recovery of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II) from the certified reference material (GBW 08301, river sediment) and to the simultaneous determination of these cations in different water samples with satisfactory results.

Selective solid phase extraction of trace cadmium(II) and lead(II) from biological and natural water samples by ofloxacin-modified-silica gel

Ofloxacin was successfully used as a chemical modifier to improve the reactivity of silica gel in terms of selective binding and extraction of heavy metal ions. This new functionalised silica gel (SG-ofloxacin) was as an effective sorbent for the solid-phase extraction (SPE) of Cd(II) and Pb(II) in biological and natural water samples and their determination by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Experimental conditions for effective adsorption of trace levels of Cd(II) and Pb(II) were optimised with respect to different experimental parameters using the batch and column procedures. The time for 70% sorption for Cd(II) and Pb(II) was less than 2 min. Complete elution of the adsorbed metal ions from the SG-ofloxacin was carried out using 2.0 mL of 0.5 mol L−1 of HCl. Common coexisting ions did not interfere with the separation and determination at pH 4.0. The maximum static adsorption capacity of the sorbent at optimum conditions was found to be 39.17 and 48.69 mg g−1 for Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively. The detection limits of the method were found to be 0.29 and 0.13 ng mL−1 for Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the method under optimum conditions was lower than 3.0% (n = 5). The method was applied to the recovery of Cd(II) and Pb(II) from the certified reference material (GBW 08301, river sediment) and to the simultaneous determination of these cations in different water and biological samples with satisfactory results and yielding 100-folds enrichment factor.

Silica gel modified with diaminothiourea as selective solid-phase extractant for determination of Hg(II) in biological and natural water samples

In this paper, a new method that utilizes diaminothiourea-modified silica gel as solid-phase extractant has been developed for preconcentration of trace Hg(II) prior to the measurement by cold-vapour atomic absorption spectrometry. The separation/preconcentration conditions of the analyte, which include the effects of the pH, sample flow rate and volume, elution conditions, shaking time, and interfering ions on the recovery of the analyte were investigated. At pH 2, the adsorption capacity of modified silica gel for Hg(II) was found to be 36.3 mg/g. According to the definition of IUPAC, the detection limits (3σ) of this method for Hg(II) was 0.28 ng/mL. The proposed method yielded satisfactory results when it was applied to the determination of trace Hg(II) in biological and natural water samples.