The evaluation of carbon nanotubes as a sorbent for dicamba herbicide

The potential of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a novel sorbent for extraction of dicamba, a highly polar acidic herbicide, from aqueous samples was evaluated. The sorption capacity of CNTs increases remarkably with decreasing sample pH. The solution of ACN and ammonia (80:20 v/v) was found to be the most effective as the eluent for desorption from a 0.2 g CNT cartridge. The method was tested for river water samples with the LOD of 2 microg/L (for 100 mL sample) and compared with C18 bonded silica.