Separation and chromium speciation by single-wall carbon nanotubes microcolumn and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Newly Designed Organic-Inorganic Nanocomposite Membrane for Simultaneous Cr and Mn Speciation in Waters

A sol-gel approach was used to prepare a thin hydrogel membrane based on an organic-inorganic polymer matrix embedded with pre-synthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The organic polymers utilized were poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(ethylene oxide) 400 (PEO) while tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) served as a precursor for the inorganic silica polymer. AuNPs were synthesized using D-glucose as a reducing agent and starch as a capping agent. A mixture of PVA, PEO, pre-hydrolyzed TEOS, and AuNP dispersions was cast and dried at 50 °C to obtain the hybrid hydrogel membrane. The structure, morphology, and optical properties of the nanocomposite membrane were analyzed using TEM, SEM, XRD, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The newly designed hybrid hydrogel membrane was utilized as an efficient sorbent for the simultaneous speciation analysis of valence species of chromium and manganese in water samples via solid-phase extraction. This study revealed that Cr(III) and Mn(II) could be simultaneously adsorbed onto the PVA/PEO/SiO2/AuNP membrane at pH 9 while Cr(VI) and Mn(VII) remained in solution due to their inability to bind under these conditions. Under optimized parameters, detection limits and relative standard deviations were determined for chromium and manganese species. The developed analytical method was successfully applied for the simultaneous speciation analysis of chromium and manganese in drinking water and wastewater samples.

A zirconium metal-organic framework functionalized with a S/N containing carboxylic acid (MOF-808(Zr)-Tz) as an efficient sorbent for the ultrafast and selective dispersive solid phase micro extraction of chromium, silver, and rhodium in water samples

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are good adsorbents for targeted chemicals with their adjustable properties. Herein, we prepared a zirconium based MOF (MOF-808(Zr)) and functionalized it employing 2-mercapto-4-methyl-5-thiazolacetic acid (MOF-808(Zr)-Tz). The prepared MOFs were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, TGA, N2 sorption, zeta potential measurements, and elemental analysis. The surface area of MOF-808(Zr)-Tz was 1348 m2/g. Dispersive solid-phase micro-extraction (D-SPµE) method based on MOF-808(Zr)-Tz was firstly developed and applied to the extraction of chromium, silver, and rhodium in waters. The determination of the analytes was done by FAAS. The optimal pH and eluent for analytes were 7.0 and 3 mL of 2 mol L-1 HCl, respectively. The contact times were 1 min for adsorption and 3 min for elution. The LOD and PFs of the D-SPμE for analytes were 2.3 μg L-1 and 13.3 for chromium, 2.1 μg L-1 and 13.3 for silver, and 3.1 μg L-1 and 13.3 rhodium, respectively. The D-SPμE method was verified with analyses of NW-TMDA-54.6 Lake water and SPS-WW1 Batch 114 Wastewater and with spiked dam water, river water, well water, sea water, and wastewater. The recoveries of the analytes changed from 89 to 108 %. The results indicated that the method is selective, simple, effective, and rapid for extracting chromium(III), silver(I) and rhodium(III) in waters.

Alumina/nano-graphite composite as a new nanosorbent for the selective adsorption, preconcentration, and determination of chromium in water samples by EDXRF

Obtaining new nanocomposites with sorption properties towards chromium is highly important not only from the environmental point of view but also for developing eco-friendly methods of chromium determination. The potential use of aluminum oxide-coated nano-graphite (Al2O3/nano-G) as a new nanosorbent in ultrasound-assisted dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction (DMSPE) for rapid speciation of trace chromium(III) and chromium(VI) ions in natural water was evaluated. In the developed method, the crucial issue is the new nanocomposite synthesized by coating alumina on a nano-graphite surface with sorption properties. Structural researches of the nanocomposite were carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. Maximum adsorption capacity of Al2O3/nano-G towards Cr(III) was 32.8 mg g-1. The influence of the method's factors like pH, sample volumes, contact time, coexisting ions, and humic acid on the recovery of chromium was examined. The nanocomposites have been found to be stable and effective as a sorbent in water with high concentrations of selected cations and anions present in water as well as in water of various pH. Al2O3/nano-G is selective for Cr(III) in presence of Cr(VI). Cr(III) was determined by the developed method, total Cr after reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III), and Cr(VI) was calculated as the difference between total Cr and Cr(III). After sorption, the nanocomposite with chromium was collected on 5-mm diameter filters and analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) to determine the chromium concentration. The method was characterized by correlation coefficient 0.999, limit of detection (LOD) 0.04 ng mL-1, and relative standard deviation (RSD) 3.5%. Al2O3/nano-G combined with proposed DMSPE/EDXRF was verified by analysis of certificate reference material of natural water (NIST 1640a). Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Determination and speciation of ultratrace arsenic and chromium species using aluminium oxide supported on graphene oxide

Alumina supported on graphene oxide (Al₂O₃/GO) nanocomposite as new nanosorbent in dispersive micro-solid phase extraction (DMSPE) for As(V) and Cr(III) preconcentration is described. The crucial issue of the study is synthesis of novel nanocomposite suitable for sorption of selected species of arsenic and chromium. Al₂O₃/GO demonstrates selectivity toward arsenates in the presence of arsenites at pH 5 and chromium(III) ions in the presence of chromate anions at pH 6. The Al₂O₃/GO nanocomposite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the Raman spectroscopy. The maximum adsorption capacity calculated based on the Langmuir adsorption model were 43.9 mg g^-1 and 53.9 mg g^-1 for As(V) and Cr(III), respectively. The nanocomposite was used as solid sorbent in preconcentration of As(V) and Cr(III)_ions from water samples and their determination using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). The As(V) and Cr(III) ions can be quantitatively preconcentrated from 25 to 100 mL aqueous samples within 5 min using DMSPE procedure and 1 mg of Al₂O₃/GO. The nanocomposite was also used for preparation of Al₂O₃/GO membrane. Then, As(V) and Cr(III)_ions can be retained under flow condition by passing analyzed solution through Al₂O₃/GO membrane. Under the optimized conditions, As(V) and Cr(III) ions can be determined with very good recovery (92-108%), precision (RSD 2.7-4.0%) and excellent limit of detection (0.02 ng mL^-1 As and 0.11 ng mL^-1 Cr). The accuracy of the method was studied by analyzing certified reference materials (NIST 1640a) and spiked real water samples.

Fabrication of porous covalent organic frameworks as selective and advanced adsorbents for the on-line preconcentration of trace elements against the complex sample matrix

Herein, for the first time, the typical porous Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) CTpBD with superior chemical stability and large surface area were applied as sorbents for solid phase extraction of trace ions via flow injection followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detection. The well-prepared and fully-characterized CTpBD COFs were filled in solid phase extraction cartridge as novel and robust adsorbents for element analysis. Separation and enrichment of Cr (III), Mn (II), Co (II), Ni (II), Cd (II), V (V), Cu (II), As (III), Se (IV), and Mo (VI) was then carried out, and the contents were measured by ICP-MS. Owing to the large surface area and instinctive porous structure of CTpBD, preconcentration of the target trace elements via COF-filled on-line SPE column has achieved low detection limits of 2.1-21.6ngL^-1 along with a wide linearity range at 0.05-25μgL^-1 for all target ions. The relative standard deviations (RSD) of 1.2%-4.3% obtained via 11 parallel determinations at the sample concentration of 100ngL^-1 revealed excellent repeatability of the developed methods Our proposed methods have been successfully utilized for trace element analysis in environmental and food samples.

Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets as a fluorescent probe for chromium speciation

A fluorometric method was developed for simultaneous determination of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) ions using graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (g-C₃N₄ NS) as a nanosized fluorescent indicator probe. The g-C₃N₄ NS were prepared using high-temperature carbonization of melamine followed by ultrasonication-assisted liquid exfoliation. The g-C₃N₄ NS display fluorescence with excitation/emission peaks located at 320 and 450 nm. The chromium speciation is based on the quenching of g-C₃N₄ NS fluorescence. The total concentration of chromium is determined after oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI). The Cr(III) content was then calculated by subtracting the concentration of Cr(VI) from that of total chromium. The effects of pH value, probe amount, and contact time are optimized. Under optimum conditions, calibration plots are linear in the range in the 0.01 to 100 μM chromium concentration range. The limit of detection is 3 nM for for Cr(VI). The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSD) of the assay are 3.6-7.5% and 4.1-8.5%, respectively. The indicator probe was applied to the determination of chromium species in spiked water and food samples, and recoveries were satisfactory (93.9-107.0%). Graphical abstract Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets are synthesized by melamine carbonization and employed for Cr speciation in water and food real samples. Total Cr(VI) and Cr(VI) are assessed based on the quenching of the fluorescence of nanosheets by Cr(VI).

A Review on Recent Applications of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography in Metal Determination and Speciation Analysis

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has several advantages over the conventional methods due to their operational simplicity. It is a vital tool to determine metal ions having same mass but different electronic configuration, to separate complex mixtures and to resolve ions that may be indistinguishable by mass spectrometry alone. Metal ions play vital role in many biological processes and involved in setting up of many diseases. Therefore, the development of simple methods for the detection and quantification of metals in real samples might serve as diagnostic tools for various diseases. This review article focuses on the recent main feature of this technique, i.e. speciation of metal ions and their applications to series of problem of metal ion chemistry in different environmental matrixes. Speciation of metals is of increasing interest and has a great importance because of bioavailability, environmental mobility, toxicity and potential risk of metals. With the capability of partitioning the complex species of different metal ions, HPLC is an efficient technique for this task. This review summarizes recent advances in the development of HPLC to the fundamental understanding of metal ion chemistry in the environment and discusses all the issues that still need a lot of consideration. It has been classified into different sections depending on the role of HPLC in separation used and metal speciation; furthermore, the underlying sample preconcentration techniques and detection systems involved for the determination of metal ions and their applications were discussed.

Dispersive micro solid-phase extraction using multiwalled carbon nanotubes for simultaneous determination of trace metal ions by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

A methodology based on dispersive micro solid-phase extraction (DMSPE) using multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as solid sorbent prior to measurement with energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry is proposed. The procedure consists of chelating of nickel, cobalt, copper, and lead ions with ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (APDC) and posterior adsorption of metal chelates on MWCNTs (1 mg) dispersed in the aqueous samples (100 mL). DMSPE promotes immediate interaction between the metal chelates and MWCNTs and shortens time of sample preparation in comparison with classical solid-phase extraction. After microextraction process, MWCNTs are collected onto filter and directly measured by EDXRF. With this technique, the direct quantification of metal species held in solid materials is possible and, therefore, the elution step can be avoided. The effects of various experimental parameters such as pH of the solution, amounts of MWCNTs and APDC, sample volume, and time of stirring were investigated. With the best analytical conditions (1 mg of MWCNTs, 2 mg of APDC, 100 mL sample volume, pH = 7, and 5 min time of stirring), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Pb(II) can be simultaneously determined with very good recoveries (101%, 98%, 96%, 99%, respectively) and detection limits (0.43, 0.11, 0.46, 0.15 ng mL(-1), respectively). The method was applied in determination of trace metal ions in tap water and wastewater samples.

Speciation and determination of ultra trace amounts of chromium by solidified floating organic drop microextraction (SFODME) and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Solidified floating organic drop microextraction (SFODME) method in combination with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) has been used for the determination of chromium species in water and urine samples. 1-undecanol containing 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) was used as a selective chelating agent for the extraction of Cr(III). The total Cr was determined after the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) with hydroxylamine. The concentration of Cr(VI) was determined from the difference between the concentration of total chromium and the Cr(III). Several variables such as the sample pH, concentration of TTA, salt concentration, extraction time and the sample volume were investigated in detail. Under the optimum conditions, the limit of detection of the proposed method was 0.006 μg l(-1) for Cr(III) and the relative standard deviation for six replicate determinations at 0.1 μg l(-1) Cr(III) was 5.1%. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of chromium species in tap water, well water, mineral water, and urine samples.