Application of poly (N-phenylethanolamine) modified MWCNTs as a new sorbent for solid-phase extraction of trace palladium ions in soil and water samples

Abstract

This paper describes, a new, sensitive, and low cost solid phase extraction (SPE) method using a poly(N-phenylethanolamine) /multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) nanocomposite for extraction, pre-concentration, and flame atomic absorption spectrometric (FAAS) determination of trace level palladium in distilled water, tap water, Caspian sea water, Persian Gulf water, spring water, lake water and soil samples, as well as real samples. The poly(N-phenylethanolamine)/MWCNTs nanocomposite were characterized using Fourier Transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Factors affecting the pre-concentration of palladium, including sample pH, flow rate, and type and volume of eluent, were investigated. The effect of interfering ions and break through volume on the separation and determination of palladium ions was also determined. The maximum sorbent capacity of the poly (N-phenylethanolamine)/MWCNTs nanocomposite was calculated to be 101.5 mg g −1 . The pre-concentration factor, relative standard deviation, and limit of detection of the method were found to be 150, 2.8% (n=10), and 0.09 ng mL −1 , respectively. The presented method was compared to certified reference materials, and finally, the presented technique was applied to different matrices spiked with 5 ng/mL of analyte.