Dithizone-modified nanoporous fructose as a novel sorbent for solid-phase extraction of ultra-trace levels of heavy metals

We are introducing nanoporous fructose (np-F) modified with dithizone as a new solid-phase for extraction of heavy metals ions including cadmium(II), copper(II), nickel(II) and lead(II). Effects of pH value, flow rates, type, concentration and volume of the eluent, breakthrough volume, and of other ions were studied. Under optimized conditions, the extraction efficiency is > 97 %, and the limits of detection are 0.025, 0.15, 0.5 and 1.2 ng mL(-1) for the ions of cadmium, copper, nickel, and lead, respectively, and the adsorption capacities for these ions are 101, 81, 74 and 178 mg g(-1). The modified np-F sorbent was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and nitrogen adsorption surface area (BET) measurements.