Determination of benzotriazole UV absorbers in textile products made of polyurethane fibers by high-performance liquid chromatography with a photo diode array detector

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to develop a simple method for the simultaneous analysis of seven benzotriazole (BZT) UV absorbers that are commonly used in urethane fiber products. Acetone/chloroform shaking extraction, tetrahydrofuran dissolution, and acetone/hexane soaking extraction methods were examined, and acetone/hexane soaking extraction was used for analysis because its operation was simply and the low-toxicity and small consumption volume of extraction solvents. All the BZT UV absorbers investigated in this study were subjected to qualitative/quantitative analysis by high-performance liquid-chromatography with a photodiode array detector. To avoid interference by co-elution substances, a wavelength of 340 nm was used for quantification. Good linearity of standard curve of every chemical was observed in the concentration range of 0.02–10 µg/mL. Sufficient reproducibility was achieved because their recoveries and its variance of coefficients were good values. Furthermore, limits of detection and limits of quantification obtained from recovery tests were 0.095 to 0.56 µg/g and 0.29 to 1.7 µg/g, respectively. Among the 39 polyurethane textile products analyzed, only 2-(2’-hydroxy-5’-methylphenyl)benzotriazole (UV-P), 2-(2’-hydroxy-3’-tert-butyl-5’-methylphenyl)-5-chlorobenzotriazole (UV-326), and 2-(2'-hydroxy-3',5'-di-α-cumylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole (UV-234) were detected in 2 samples (1.2 to 1.7 µg/g), 8 samples (0.62 to 384 µg/g), and 16 samples (trace amounts to 935 µg/g), respectively.