Magnetic Graphene Nanoparticles for the Preconcentration of Chloroacetanilide Herbicides from Water Samples Prior to Determination by GC-ECD

A highly sensitive method for the determination of the chloroacetanilide herbicides alachlor, acetochlor, pretilachlor, butachlor, and metolachlor in environmental water samples was developed. It is based on solid-phase extraction using magnetic graphene nanocomposite (G-Fe3O4) as the adsorbent, followed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. This novel adsorbent showed a great adsorptive ability toward the analytes. The main experimental parameters such as the amount of G-Fe3O4, extraction time, ionic strength, the pH of the sample solution, and desorption conditions were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors of the method for the analytes were in the range from 649 to 1078. A good linear response was achieved in the range of 0.220.0ngmL1, with correlation coefficients (r) varying from 0.9964 to 0.9998. The limits of detection of the method ranged from 0.02 to 0.05ngmL1 and the relative standard deviations were below 4.5%. The method was successfully applied to the determination of the herbicides in environmental water samples. Recoveries of the method for the analytes were in the range of 80.7105.3%.