Abstract
This work presents a novel procedure for the removal of Cu2+ from water, an essential element in human nutrition considered toxic in high concentrations, based on a microextraction technique involving the formation of a micellar phase. To achieve the total elimination of copper from aqueous samples, a Cu2+-complexing reagent based on silver nanoparticles functionalized with sodium mercaptoethane sulfonate (AgNPs@MESNa) was used. The complex formed by Cu2+ and the reagent was extracted into a micellar microphase formed by Triton X-114, a harmless surfactant. Volumes of 200 µL of the 10−4 mol L−1 suspension of AgNPs@MESNa and 100 µL of a solution of Triton X-114 at 30% m/m were employed to successfully remove 10 mg L−1 of Cu from 20 mL of water samples. The time and temperature needed to achieve 100% microextraction efficiency were 10 min and 40 °C, respectively. The procedure is considered environmentally friendly due to the low volume of the extracting phase and the simple experimental conditions that achieve total removal of Cu2+ from water samples.
Highlights
Copper is considered an essential element in human nutrition because it is involved in many enzymatic reactions, being one of the indispensable micronutrients
At high concentrations, copper is toxic to organisms, its effect becoming stronger for plants and fish [9]
We present a novel approach for the removal of Cu2+ from water samples combining the use of silver nanoparticles functionalized with sodium mercaptoethane sulfonate (AgNPs@MESNa) with a microextraction technique that uses a small volume of Triton X-114
Summary
Copper is considered an essential element in human nutrition because it is involved in many enzymatic reactions, being one of the indispensable micronutrients. Interest in the use of nanoparticles to remove Cu2+ from water has grown [31,32,33,34], being most of the methods employed based on adsorption techniques which involve tedious procedures that do not achieve 100% adsorption efficiency. We present a novel approach for the removal of Cu2+ from water samples combining the use of silver nanoparticles functionalized with sodium mercaptoethane sulfonate (AgNPs@MESNa) with a microextraction technique that uses a small volume of Triton X-114.
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