Hydroxyl group-enriched microporous organic network for high-performance solid-phase extraction of triazine herbicides: Experiment and DFT calculation on adsorption behavior

High-efficiency monitoring of triazine herbicides residues is vital in the evaluation of environmental and agro-food safety. Herein, we fabricated a spherical hydroxylated microporous organic network (OH-MON) with high surface area, high stability and rich hydrogen-bonding affinity sites suitable as an advanced solid-phase extraction (SPE) adsorbent for efficient adsorption of triazine herbicides. Density-functional theory calculations and competitive enrichment tests confirmed that hydrogen bonding played a vital role to the enrichment of triazine herbicides by OH-MON. This OH-MON SPE cartridge showed satisfactory reproducibility, maintaining its adsorption capacity after 10 adsorption-desorption cycles. Furthermore, we developed a sensitive analytical approach for determining triazine herbicides residues in water and fruit juice samples. Desirable linear correlations within 0.50-250 ng.L-1, an ultra-low detection limit (0.03-0.15 ng.L-1 for water; 0.04-0.21 ng.L-1 for fruit juice), good precision and high enrichment factor for triazine herbicides were achieved. A preliminary practical application of the developed method was proved by the efficient detection of triazine herbicides in water and fruit samples with good recoveries (72.8%-100.4% and 72.0%-97.7% for water and juice samples, respectively). This study serves as a good reference for designing the high-functionalized MON to capture contaminants and address environmental and agro-food safety issues.

Automated summary

This study investigates the effective adsorption of triazine herbicides using a spherical hydroxylated microporous organic network (OH-MON) as a solid-phase extraction (SPE) adsorbent. The OH-MON showed high stability and affinity for triazine herbicides due to its hydrogen-bonding properties. A sensitive analytical approach for detecting triazine herbicides in water and fruit juice samples was developed, achieving desirable linear correlations, ultra-low detection limits, and high enrichment factors. The method was successfully applied to detect triazine herbicides in water and fruit samples with good recoveries.