Triphenylamine-functionalized magnetic microparticles as a new adsorbent coupled with high performance liquid chromatography for the analysis of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aqueous samples

Abstract

Triphenylamine (TPA)-functionalized magnetic microspheres (Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/TPA) were prepared and applied as solid phase extraction (SPE) adsorbents for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental samples in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) conditions affecting the extraction efficiency were optimized, including elution solvent, standing time, amount of sorbent, and salt concentration. Due to the strong π–π conjugate effect between the benzene rings of TPA and PAHs, high extraction efficiency was achieved with spiked recoveries of 80.21–108.33% and relative standard deviations (RSD) of less than 10%. Good linearities (R² > 0.997) for all calibration curves were obtained with low limits of detection (LOD) of 0.25, 0.5, 0.5, 3.75, 0.2 and 0.04 ng L⁻¹ for anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[k]fluoranthene, respectively. The achieved results indicate the applicability of Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/TPA as MSPE adsorbents.