Solid phase extraction of Co ions using L-tyrosine immobilized on multiwall carbon nanotubes

A study was performed to assess the performance of aminoacids immobilized on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for their employment as a sorbent for solid phase extraction systems. An immobilization method is introduced and the aminoacid L-tyrosine was chosen as a case study. A spectrophotometric study revealed the amount of aminoacid immobilizated on CNTs surface, and it turned to be of 3174 micromol of L-tyrg(-1). The material was tested for Co retention using a minicolumn inserted in a flow system. At pH 7.0, the amount of Co retained by the column was of 37.58+/-3.06 micromol Co g(-1) of CNTs. A 10% (v/v) HNO(3) solution was chosen as eluent. The pH study revealed that Co binding increased at elevated pH values. The calculation of the mol ratio (moles of Co bound at pH 9 to moles of l-tyr) turned to be 3:1. The retention capacity was compared to other bivalent cations and showed the following tendency: Cu(2+)>Ni(2+)>Zn(2+)>>Co(2+). The analytical performance was evaluated and an enrichment factor of 180 was obtained when 10 mL of 11.37 microg L(-1)Co solution was loaded onto the column at pH 9.0; reaching a limit of detection (LoD) of 50 ng L(-1). The proposed system was successfully applied to Co determination in QC-LL2 standard reference material (metals in natural water).