Carbonaceous nanomaterials immobilised mixed matrix membrane microextraction for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sewage pond water samples.
In this study, the potential for carbonaceous nanomaterials to be used as adsorbents for the mixed matrix membrane (MMM) microextraction and preconcentration of organic pollutants was demonstrated. For this method, multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and single layer graphene (SLG) nanoparticles were individually incorporated through dispersion in a cellulose triacetate (CTA) polymer matrix to form a MWCNT-MMM and SLG-MMM, respectively. The prepared membranes were evaluated for the extraction of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in sewage pond water samples. The extraction was performed by dipping a small piece of membrane (7 mm × 7 mm) in a stirred 7.5 mL sample solution to initiate the analyte adsorption. This step was followed by an analyte desorption into 60 μL of methanol prior to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. When the optimum SLG-MMM microextraction technique was applied to spiked sewage pond water samples, the detection limit of the method for the PAHs were in the range of 0.02-0.09 ng/mL, with relative standard deviations of between 1.4% and 7.8%. Enrichment factors of 54-100 were achieved with relative recoveries of 99%-101%. A comparison was also made between the proposed approach and standard solid phase extraction using polymeric bonded octadecyl (C18) cartridges.
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia; Centre for Sustainable Nanomaterials, Ibnu Sina Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia.
Nurul Hazirah
NH
Mukhtar
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia; Centre for Sustainable Nanomaterials, Ibnu Sina Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. Electronic address: hhsee@utm.my.
Hong Heng
HH
See
Carbon nanotubes; Graphene; Mixed matrix membrane; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; Sample preparation