Novel application of modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a solid phase extraction adsorbent for the determination of polyhalogenated organic pollutants in aqueous solution

This paper describes a novel application of pristine and chemically modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as the packing materials for the determination of different polyhalogenated organic pollutants, pentachlorophenol, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl and 2,2',5,5'-tetrabromobiphenyl, from aqueous solution based on solid phase extraction. The modified MWCNTs were characterized using different techniques and the results revealed the successful modification of the MWCNTs with octadecyl amine and poly(ethylene glycol), separately. Factors that maybe influence the preconcentration efficiency, such as sample flow rate, adsorbent mass, sample pH and sample volume, were studied. Desorption of the target analytes was studied using different solvents and the results showed that acetone was the best solvent for all the analytes compared with methanol and hexane. All the results indicated that the proposed method could be used for the simultaneous determination of different pollutants in environmental water samples at trace levels.