Micellar Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction for Preconcentration of Cu(I) in Environmental Samples

Abstract

Micelle-based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction was used for preconcentration of trace amounts of copper prior to its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The copper ions were micro-extracted using coacervates, composed of reverse micelles of decanoic acid, and were dispersed in tetrahydrofuran–water mixtures. The method involves the partitioning of the metal chelates, produced from the reaction of Cu(I) and bisoxazoline in acidic medium, and the combination of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction with coacervation-based microextraction. It combines the advantages of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction with those based on coacervation and reverse micelles. All of the critical parameters affecting the analytical performance were studied. Under the optimum conditions, the enhancement factor was determined to be 30.0. The detection limit and precision were determined to be 1.6 μg/L and 3.2 % (n = 6, 200 μg/L), respectively. The accuracy of the developed method was evaluated by analyzing a certified reference material and was applied for analysis of water and vegetable samples, successfully.