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Ionic liquid-functionalized silica for selective solid-phase extraction of organic acids, amines and aldehydes
Lorena Vidal1, Jevgeni Parshintsev, Kari Hartonen
1Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 55, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland. lorena.vidal@ua.es
Journal of Chromatography. A
|September 20, 2011
Summary
New ionic liquid-functionalized silica materials show promise for solid-phase extraction (SPE) of atmospheric aerosol compounds. These materials offer effective extraction of organic acids and demonstrate unique selectivity compared to commercial SPE sorbents.
Area of Science:
- Analytical Chemistry
- Environmental Science
- Materials Science
Background:
- Atmospheric aerosol particles contain important organic acids, amines, and aldehydes.
- Solid-phase extraction (SPE) is a crucial technique for isolating these compounds.
- Development of novel SPE sorbents with enhanced selectivity and efficiency is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and evaluate three ionic liquid (IL)-functionalized silica materials for SPE.
- To investigate the application of these IL-functionalized silicas for extracting organic acids, amines, and aldehydes from atmospheric aerosols.
- To compare the performance of the novel IL-functionalized silica materials with commercial SPE sorbents.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of imidazolium, N-methylimidazolium, and 1-alkyl-3-(propyl-3-sulfonate) imidazolium-functionalized silica materials.
- Application of these materials in solid-phase extraction (SPE).
- Analysis of extracted analytes using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
- Stability testing of IL-functionalized silica materials at varying pH levels.
Main Results:
- Extraction efficiencies for organic acids ranged from 87-110%, with lower efficiencies for cis-pinonic acid.
- Anion exchange was identified as the primary retention mechanism, supplemented by hydrophobic, π interactions, and hydrogen bonding.
- IL-functionalized materials exhibited different selectivity and superior extraction efficiency for aromatic compounds compared to commercial SAX sorbents.
- Successful application of the new materials in extracting analytes from an atmospheric aerosol sample.
Conclusions:
- The synthesized IL-functionalized silica materials are effective for SPE of target analytes in atmospheric aerosols.
- The 1-alkyl-3-(propyl-3-sulfonate) imidazolium-functionalized silica demonstrated unique performance as an SPE sorbent.
- These novel materials offer a promising alternative to conventional SPE sorbents for atmospheric aerosol analysis.
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