One-pot fabrication of functional magnetic adsorbent for efficient capture of mercury species in aqueous samples prior to HPLC analysis

Efficient extraction is a vital step in mercury speciation. In this context, using 4-vinylbenzeneboronic acid and 9-vinylanthracene as functional monomers, a new magnetic adsorbent was fabricated accord-ing to one-pot hydrothermal approach. Various characterization results prove the as-prepared adsorbent presented abundant functional groups and saturation magnetism. Combining with magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE), the adsorbent exhibited satisfactory entrapment performance towards different mer-cury species which had been pre-coordinated with dithizone to form metal-organic coordination. A series of parameters influencing the extraction performance were inspected in detail. Under the most beneficial conditions, sensitive and reliable approach to quantify trace methylmercury, ethylmercury, phenylmer-cury and inorganic mercury in aqueous samples was developed by the combination of HPLC/DAD. Limits of detection and precision located in the ranges of 0.012-0.074 mu g/L and 2.5-9.8%, respectively. Recoveries with low, medium and high fortified contents in actual waters varied from 79.8 to 119%. Confirmatory ex-periments were performed to evidence the accuracy and reliability of established approach. In addition, a possible mechanism was suggested based on the chemical nature of analytes, extraction conditions and characterization results.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Efficient extraction of mercury speciation was achieved by fabricating a new magnetic adsorbent using 4-vinylbenzeneboronic acid and 9-vinylanthracene. The adsorbent showed satisfactory entrapment performance towards different mercury species, and a sensitive and reliable approach for quantifying trace mercury was developed using HPLC/DAD. The established method exhibited low detection limits and good precision.