Zhanqi Gao

Nano-structured polyaniline-ionic liquid composite film coated steel wire for headspace solid-phase microextraction of organochlorine pesticides in water

A novel nano-structured polyaniline-ionic liquid (i.e. 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, BMIPF(6)) composite (BPAN) film coated steel wire was prepared by electrochemical deposition. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the obtained porous BPAN coating consisted of nanofibers, whose diameter ranged from 50 to 80 nm. Furthermore, the novel nano-structured composite coating was very stable at relatively high temperatures (up to 350 °C) and it could be used for more 250 times without obvious decrease of the extraction efficiency. The novel BPAN coating was used for the headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) of organochlorine pesticides (i.e. hexachlorocyolohexane, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), coupled with gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD). The BPAN coating showed better analytical capability on the whole compared with common polyaniline (PANI) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coatings. The key parameters influencing extraction efficiency were investigated and optimized, including desorption time, stirring speed, extraction temperature, extraction time and ionic strength. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for single fiber repeatability ranged from 2.3 to 8.7% (n=6) and the RSDs for fiber-to-fiber reproducibility (n=6) were 4.2-12.1%, respectively. The linear ranges exceeded three magnitudes with correlation coefficients above 0.99. The detection limits were 0.12-0.31 ng L(-1). The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of organochlorine pesticides in lake water, waste water and sewage treatment plant effluent with good recoveries from 88.9 to 112.9%.

Mixed hemimicelles solid-phase extraction based on ionic liquid-coated Fe3O4/SiO2 nanoparticles for the determination of flavonoids in bio-matrix samples coupled with high performance liquid chromatography

A novel magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) method based on mixed hemimicelles of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) coated Fe3O4/SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) was developed for simultaneous extraction of trace amounts of flavonoids in bio-matrix samples. A comparative study on the use of RTILs (C16mimBr) and CTAB-coated Fe3O4/SiO2 NPs as sorbents was presented. Owing to bigger adsorption amounts for analytes, RTILs-coated Fe3O4/SiO2 NPs was selected as MSPE materials and three analytes luteolin, quercetin and kaempferol can be quantitatively extracted and simultaneously determined coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in urine samples. No interferences were caused by proteins or endogenous compounds. Good linearity (R(2)>0.9993) for all calibration curves was obtained, and the limits of detection (LOD) for luteolin, quercetin and kaempferol were 0.10 ng/mL, 0.50 ng/mL and 0.20 ng/mL in urine samples, respectively. Satisfactory recoveries (93.5-97.6%, 90.1-95.4% and 93.3-96.6% for luteolin, quercetin and kaempferol) in biological matrices were achieved. It was notable that while using a small amount of Fe3O4/SiO2 NPs (4.0 mg) and C16mimBr (1.0 mg), satisfactory preconcentration factors and extraction recoveries for the three flavonoids were obtained. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a mixed hemimicelles MSPE method based on RTILs and Fe3O4/SiO2 NPs magnetic separation has ever been used for pretreatment of complex biological samples.

Determination of organophosphate esters in water samples using an ionic liquid-based sol–gel fiber for headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-flame photometric detector

A simple, low-cost and sensitive method for determining organophosphate esters (OPEs) in water samples has been developed based on headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography-flame photometric detector. The ionic liquid (1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [AMIM][BF4])-based coating was developed by sol-gel technology and employed for extracting analytes. The prepared coating performed stably at high temperatures (up to 335°C) and with a range of solvents. It can be used at least 200 times without an obvious decrease in extraction efficiency. The extraction capability of the new fiber was much higher than polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB) and polyacrylate (PA) fibers. The experimental parameters that influenced the extraction efficiency, including extraction time, extraction temperature, stirring rate and ionic strength were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the method detection limits (S/N=3) were in the range of 0.7-12ngL(-1), and the limits of quantification (S/N=10) were between 1.0 and 28ngL(-1). The repeatability of a single fiber varied from 3.3 to 7.6% (intra-day precision, n=6) and 4.3 to 8.9% (inter-day precision, n=6). The reproducibility of fiber-to-fiber (n=6) was in the range of 3.1-9.4%. The proposed method was applied successfully for the determination of OPEs in lake water, wastewater, sewage treatment plant effluent, and tap water with recoveries varying from 75.2 to 101.8%. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is highly effective for analyzing OPEs in water samples.

Rapid photocatalytic destruction of pentachlorophenol in F–Si-comodified TiO2 suspensions under microwave irradiation

A novel photocatalysis material, F-Si-comodified TiO(2) (FST) powder, was synthesized by ultrasound-assisted hydrolysis. The prepared material was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, respectively. XRD analysis indicated that the phase of FST was pure anatase and Si atoms suppressed the growth of titania crystalline, XPS spectra showed that FST was composed of Ti, O, Si and F element, the band gap energy of FST calculated according to the spectrum of UV-vis absorption was 3.26 eV. The electron spin resonance (ESR) spin-trapping technique using 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) as the spin-trap reagent has been applied to detect free radical intermediates generated from FST. ESR results showed the concentration of the active species (OH) on FST is higher than those on F-doping TiO(2) (FT), Si-modifying TiO(2) (ST) and P25 titania. The degradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in the microwave-assisted photocatalysis (MAPC) process was faster than other processes including microwave-assisted direct photolysis (MADP), microwave process alone (MP) and dark process (DP). The photocatalytic activity of FST is much higher than that of ST, FT and P25 titania. It may be attributed to its strong capacity of absorption to the UV-vis irradiation and more hydroxyl radical on surface of FST. In MPAC process, 40 mg L(-1) PCP was completely degraded in 20 min and its corresponding mineralization efficiency was 71%, the pH of solutions decreased from 10.3 to 6.47 and the dechlorination was completed in 12 min. The intermediates products of PCP in MAPC process identified by GC/MS were trichlorophenols (TCP), tetrachlorophenols (TTCP) and tetrachlorocatechol (TTCC) and the possible mechanism of PCP degradation is proposed.

Efficient degradation of Acid Orange 7 in aqueous solution by iron ore tailing Fenton-like process.

An effective method based on iron ore tailing Fenton-like process was studied for removing an azo dye, Acid Orange 7 (AO7) in aqueous solution. Five tailings were characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectroscope (XFS), Brunner-Emmet-Teller (BET) measurement, and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The result of XFS showed that Fe, Si and Ca were the most abundant elements and some toxic heavy metals were also present in the studied tailings. The result of BET analysis indicated that the studied tailings had very low surface areas (0.64-5.68 m(2) g(-1)). The degradation efficiencies of AO7 were positively correlated with the content of iron oxide and cupric oxide, and not related with the BET surface area of the tailings. The co-existing metal elements, particularly Cu, might accelerate the heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction. The effects of other parameters on heterogeneous Fenton-like degradation of AO7 by a converter slag iron tailing (tailing E) which contains highest iron oxide were also investigated. The tailing could be reused 10 times without significant decrease of the catalytic capacity. Very low amount of iron species and almost undetectable toxic elements were leached in the catalytic degradation of AO7 by the tailing E. The reaction products were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and a possible pathway of AO7 degradation was proposed. This study not only provides an effective method for removing azo dyes in polluted water by employing waste tailings as Fenton-like catalysts, but also uses waste tailings as the secondary resource.

Determination of organophosphorus flame retardants in fish by pressurized liquid extraction using aqueous solutions and solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-flame photometric detector.

A novel method was developed for the determination of organophosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) in fish. The method consists of a combination of pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) using aqueous solutions and solid-phase microextraction (SPME), followed by gas chromatography-flame photometric detector (GC-FPD). The experimental parameters that influenced extraction efficiency were systematically evaluated. The optimal responses were observed by extracting 1g of fish meat with the solution of water:acetonitrile (90:10, v/v) at 150°C for 5min and acid-washed silica gel used as lipid sorbent. The obtained extract was then analyzed by SPME coupled with GC-FPD without any additional clean-up steps. Under the optimal conditions, the proposed procedure showed a wide linear range (0.90-5000ngg(-1)) obtained by analyzing the spiked fish samples with increasing concentrations of PFRs and correlation coefficient (R) ranged from 0.9900 to 0.9992. The detection limits (S/N=3) were in the range of 0.010-0.208ngg(-1) with standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 2.0% to 9.0%. The intra-day and inter-day variations were less than 9.0% and 7.8%, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of PFRs in real fish samples with recoveries varying from 79.8% to 107.3%. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is highly effective for analyzing PFRs in fish samples.

Solid-phase microextraction based on polyaniline doped with perfluorooctanesulfonic acid coupled to HPLC for the quantitative determination of chlorophenols in water samples

A porous and highly efficient polyaniline-based solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coating was successfully prepared by the electrochemical deposition method. A method based on headspace SPME followed by HPLC was established to rapidly determine trace chlorophenols in water samples. Influential parameters for the SPME, including extraction mode, extraction temperature and time, pH and ionic strength procedures, were investigated intensively. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed method was linear in the range of 0.5-200 μg/L for 4-chlorophenol and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 0.2-200 μg/L for 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2-200 μg/L for 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol and pentachlorophenol, with satisfactory correlation coefficients (>0.99). RSDs were <15% (n = 5) and LODs were relatively low (0.10-0.50 μg/L). Compared to commercial 85 μm polyacrylate and 60 μm polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene fibers, the homemade polyaniline fiber showed a higher extraction efficiency. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of chlorophenols in water samples with satisfactory recoveries.

Determination of Organophosphorus Flame Retardants in Surface Water by Solid Phase Extraction Coupled with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Abstract Organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs), with increasing production and consumption, are almost ubiquitous in environmental compartments. In this study, an analytical method via solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPE-GC-MS) was developed for the determination of 8 typical OPFRs. The target compounds in water samples were pre-concentrated by Poly-Sery PSD SPE cartridge, and then eluted by 4 mL of ethyl acetate. The OPFRs were qualified and quantified by GC-MS via selective ion scan monitoring method (SIM). Good linearity could be observed in the range of 2–200 ng L−1 of OPFRs, with correlation coefficients varying from 0.9937 to 0.9995. The limits of detection and limits of quantification were 0.006–0.850 ng L−1 and 0.015–2.000 ng L−1, respectively. Spiked recoveries for samples of pure water and river water ranged from 70.3% to 114.3%, with the standard deviations less than 15%, except for TEHP. The satisfied recovery of TEHP was achieved when the spiked concentration was less than 50 ng L−1. The results indicated that the established SPE-GC-MS analytical method was sensitive and accurate enough for determination of OPFRs in samples from surface water. Thus the method was applied to analyze OPFRs in samples collected in Meiliang Bay of Taihu Lake, and it was found that the total concentrations of OPFRs were 1000–2700 ng L−1.

Application of ionic liquid-based microwave-assisted extraction of malachite green and crystal violet from water samples.

A simple, environment friendly and efficient technique, ionic liquid-based microwave-assisted extraction was first used to determine malachite green and crystal violet (CV) from water samples coupled to HPLC. The key parameters influencing extraction efficiency were investigated, such as the type of ionic liquids, the volume of ionic liquid, extraction time, and so on. Under the optimum conditions, good reproducibility of the extraction performance was obtained (RSD, 1.0% for malachite green (MG) and 5.9% for CV, n = 5). Good linearity (0.10-25 μg L(-1)) was observed with correlation coefficients between 0.9991 and 0.9964. The detection limits of MG and CV were 0.080 and 0.030 μg L(-1), respectively. The proposed method had been successfully applied to determine MG and CV in real water samples with recoveries ranging from 95.4 to 102.8%. Compared with the previous technologies, the proposed method required less extraction time (2 min), and provided lower detection limits and higher enrichment factors. Moreover, there were no volatile and hazardous organic solvents released. Based on these simple, environment friendly, rapid, and highly efficient results, the proposed approach provides a new and promising alternative for simultaneously extracting trace amounts of MG and CV from water.

Development of pressurized liquid extraction and solid‐phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography and flame photometric detection for the determination of organophosphate esters in sediments

Organophosphate esters have been extensively used as flame retardants and plasticizers. The analysis of organophosphate esters in the environment is a hot topic because many of them are toxic and persistent. We developed a novel procedure for determining organophosphate esters in sediment. In this work, pressurized liquid extraction and solid-phase microextraction are used for sample preparation to extract and concentrate the analytes, which are then analyzed by gas chromatography with flame photometric detection. The extraction parameters of pressurized liquid extraction were investigated and optimized by orthogonal design and then evaluated by range analysis and analysis of variance. Under the optimal conditions, the proposed procedure showed wide linear ranges (0.90-100 ng/g) with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9921 to 0.9990. The detection limits of the method were in the range of 0.009-0.280 ng/g with standard deviations ranging from 2.2 to 9.5%. Recoveries of the proposed method ranged from 82.3 to 108.9% with relative standard deviations <8.4%. The obtained method was applied successfully to the determination of organophosphate esters in real sediments with recoveries varying from 79.8 to 107.3%. The proposed method was proved to be simple, easy, and sensitive for analyzing organophosphate esters in sediment samples.