Ultrasonic assisted magnetic solid phase extraction of ultra-trace mercury with ionic liquid functionalized materials

Abstract

Due to the agglomeration between particles, the inherent adsorption characteristics of magnetic powder materials are usually difficult to fully display. Taking ionic liquid functional materials as an example, the enrichment behavior of these adsorbents for trace mercury (Hg2+) in ultrasonic (US) assisted dispersion mode was systematically studied. The dissociation of protonic ionic liquids (IL) occur in the process of dispersion and the strong electrostatic attraction can improve the diffusion and adhesion of mercury on the adsorbent surface. Spectral measurement data showed that with the help of US, the more uniform dispersion of magnetic materials accelerated the adsorption of trace Hg2+. Ultrasonic intrinsic parameters such as frequency, power and radiation duration significantly affect the dispersion and apparent adsorption properties of magnetic functional materials. In the range of experimental parameters, the dye/paper image experimental results documents that there is a positive correlation between cavitation effect and ultrasonic frequency/power. The enrichment degree of fixed adsorbate (0.1 μg L−1) under high frequency (59 kHz) or high-power input (100%) is 1–2 times higher than that under low frequency (40 kHz) or low power (60%) input. This is a valuable conclusion for the subsequent study of US dispersion of magnetic and even non-magnetic powder materials. In addition, the in-situ desorption and accurate measurement of adsorbed mercury were realized by combining slurry vapor generation atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (SVG-AFS). The constructed US assisted magnetic solid phase extraction (US-MSPE) method has the characteristics of low detection limit (0.36 ng L−1), high recovery (>90%), sustainable utilization (>3) and reasonable measurement deviation (<5%), which can meet the requirements of ultra-trace Hg2+ (0.01–1.0 μg L−1).