Energy-efficient construction of thermally stable superhydrophobic nanoscale stacked lamellae based solid-phase microextraction coating for the determination of non-polar compounds

Anal Chim Acta. 2019 Dec 27:1092:17-23. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2019.09.067. Epub 2019 Sep 27.

Abstract

Herein, through a facile and energy-friendly approach, thermally stable manganese-derived amorphous stacked nanosheet (MASNS) coatings with controlled wetting property ranging from superhydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity were synthesized. The superhydrophobic MASNS coating exhibited remarkable selectivity and sensitivity in the solid phase microextraction (SPME) of non-polar aromatic analytes, even amid the abundance of polar compounds, due to the superhydrophobic effect and the stacked lamellar structures. The established method was applied to the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), featuring low LODs (i.e., 0.14-0.24 ng L-1) and wide linear ranges (e.g., 10-10000 ng L-1). Extraction and desorption conditions were optimized to unleash the potential of the fiber before it was applied to the analysis of target analytes in real water samples, where satisfactory recoveries were obtained (81.7%-114.2%). This work might provide critical insights for the scalable production of superhydrophobic nanosheets as affordable and high-performance adsorbents.

Keywords: Green synthesis; Manganese-derived amorphous stacked nanosheets; Selective non-polar extraction; Solid phase microextraction; Superwetting; Thermally stable coating.