Sol-gel-based silver nanoparticles-doped silica – Polydiphenylamine nanocomposite for micro-solid-phase extraction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Nanocomposite materials offer unique properties for analytical applications.
• Polydiphenylamine and silica offer a versatile matrix for nanoparticle stabilization.
• Silver nanoparticles enhance material functionality in sensing and extraction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel silver-doped silica-polydiphenylamine (Ag-SiO2-PDPA) nanocomposite.
• To utilize the synthesized nanocomposite as an efficient sorbent for micro-solid-phase extraction (μ-SPE) of pesticides.
• To develop and optimize a method for pesticide determination in aqueous samples.

Main Methods:

• Sol-gel synthesis of Ag-SiO2-PDPA nanocomposite.
• Characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
• Micro-solid-phase extraction (μ-SPE) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis and characterization of the Ag-SiO2-PDPA nanocomposite.
• Optimized μ-SPE method achieved low limits of detection (0.02-0.05 μg L⁻¹) and quantification (0.1-0.2 μg L⁻¹).
• High relative recovery (86-103%) in environmental water samples demonstrates method applicability.

Conclusions:

• The Ag-SiO2-PDPA nanocomposite is an effective sorbent for pesticide extraction.
• The developed μ-SPE-GC-MS method is sensitive and reliable for pesticide analysis in water.
• This approach holds promise for environmental monitoring of pesticide contamination.