In-situ preparation of β-cyclodextrin-crosslinked polymer coated glass fiber for in-tube solid-phase microextraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from water samples

Abstract

Governments and organizations are paying increasing attention to the monitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment. In this study, a β-cyclodextrin-based hyper-crosslinked polymer (β-CD-HCP) was prepared via the Friedel–Crafts reaction and used as a coating for an in-tube solid-phase microextraction (IT-SPME) glass fiber based on an in-situ preparation method. Subsequently, it was used for the analysis of six PAHs in water samples. The β-CD-HCP showed an excellent adsorption performance for the PAHs owing to its unique structural characteristics and multiple bonding forces (hydrophobic interaction, π–π, and electrostatic interactions) between the β-CD-HCP and PAHs. The adsorption mechanism of the β-CD to PAHs was investigated using density functional theory calculation experiments. By coupling high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector, an online analysis method was established for the PAHs with a wide linear range (0.01–20 µg L–1), high enrichment factor (2130–2670), and low limits of detection (0.004–0.008 µg L–1). The PAHs in the water samples were successfully analyzed using this proposed online method with satisfactory recoveries in the range of 79.9–106.7% and relative standard deviations under 4.0%. The above results demonstrate that the prepared β-CD-HCP-based IT-SPME glass fiber has good application prospects for the pretreatment of PAHs in various aqueous environmental samples.