A 3D nanoscale polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes network
for microextraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Habib Bagheri, Gohar Soofi, Hasan Javanmardi, Majid Karimi
Microchimica Acta 185 (2018) 418
doi: 10.1007/s00604-018-2950-z
Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes are 3D nanoscaled materials with large potential in solid phase microextraction (SPME). Here, as a case study, an octaglycidyl dimethylsilyl modified polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane network is described. It was
deposited on a stainless steel wire via a sol–gel method and used as a fiber coating for SPME of aromatic compounds. The
uniform pore structure, high surface area, and hydrophobicity of the network make it susceptible toward isolation of non-polar
and semi-polar chemical compounds. The performance of the fiber coating was tested with three classes of environmental
pollutants, viz. chlorobenzenes (CBs), benzenes (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene; known as BTEX), and polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons. The effects of various types of sol–gel precursors on the fabrication and performance of fiber coatings
were investigated. The extraction capability of the fiber coating was compared with the polydimethyl siloxane/divinylbenzene
based commercial fiber. Parameters affecting headspace analysis and gas chromatographic quantitation were optimized. The
method was applied to the quantification of PAHs, as model analytes, in tea, coffee and some environmental waters. Linear
responses typically cover the 1–200 ng·L-1 concentration range, limits of detection are between 0.1 and 0.3 ng·L-1, intra-day
relative standard deviation are <10%, and inter-day RSDs are <12%. The fiber has a long lifespan and can be used >200 times.