Ultrasonic-induced grafted lanthanum sulfide decorated multi-walled carbon nanotube onto bacterial cellulose applied for adsorption of pesticides in environmental waters

Abstract

A new biosorbent was fabricated by modification of bacterial cellulose biopolymer grafted with lanthanum sulfide decorated carboxylated multiwall carbon nanotube (La2S3@MWCNT@BC). The sorbent was employed in a green alternative dispersive-solid phase extraction of a variety of 14 pesticides in environmental water samples. The analyses were performed using GC-µECD. The properties and structure of La2S3@MWCNT@BC nanocomposite were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and adsorption-desorption isotherms. The composition of the sorbent was also investigated to evaluate the adsorptive properties of its constituents. The impact of various parameters influencing extraction efficacies such as sorbent dose, adsorption time, sample pH, ionic strength, and desorption conditions was investigated. The method was validated by specificity, matrix effect % (-0.4 to -7.4), enrichment factor (4–10), limits of quantification (0.007–0.31 μg L−1), matrix-matched calibration linearity (0.01–200 µg L−1), determination coefficients (r2=0.9921–0.9998), and precision. The optimized method was applied for the analysis of multiclass pesticides in seven environmental and drinking waters and the recoveries were obtained in the 81–108 % range with RSDs of 2.5–4.7 %. This paper is the first report on the synthesis and use of La2S3@MWCNT@BC nanocomposite to extract pesticides from different water samples. The greenness of the procedure was evaluated by the AGREE protocols.