Solid-phase extraction of polar organophosphorous pesticides from aqueous samples with oxidized carbon nanotubes

Abstract

The development of new sorbents, which are able to trap polar compounds, is a growing research field in solid-phase extraction (SPE). In this study, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were oxidized in air at 600 °C and 500 °C, respectively, for 2 h. MWCNTs, SWCNTs, air oxidized MWCNTs (OMWCNTs) and SWCNTs (OSWCNTs) (200 mg of each) were packed in SPE cartridges. The four cartridges obtained, together with a commercial Oasis HLB cartridge, were used to extract six polar organophosphorous pesticides (OPPs), i.e., dichlorvos, methamidophos, acephate, omethoate, monocrotophos and dimethoate, from an aqueous sample. The results showed that the oxidation process significantly enhanced the adsorption abilities of both SWCNTs and MWCNTs for polar OPPs. A comparative study indicated that OSWCNTs were more effective than Oasis HLB for the extraction of methamidophos and acephate and as effective as Oasis HLB for the other four OPPs from aqueous samples. When 100 mL of a natural sample was spiked with OPPs and extracted with OSWCNTs, the recoveries of five of the six polar OPPs (methamidophos excepted) ranged from 79.1 to 101.9%. The detection limits of the method based on OSWCNTs was found to be 0.07–0.12 µg L⁻¹.