Fabrication of sulfur-based functionalized activated carbon as solid phase extraction adsorbent for selective...

Based on the important feature of sulfur with excellent selectivity toward selenite in the presence of selenate, a simple and low-cost adsorbent of solid phase extraction known as sulfur loading activated carbon (SAC-6) was successfully prepared and applied for selenite (Se(IV)) analysis in water. Microstructure and morphological characteristics of SAC-6 had been identified by XRD, TEM, BET and FT-IR. In the static adsorption experiments, Se(IV) could be separated in a wide range of pH values (pH=3-11). The retention process of Se(IV) onto SAC-6 was characterized as spontaneous exothermic reaction. An obvious change of adsorption mechanism occurred in static and dynamic adsorption processes shown that the behaviors followed monolayer and hybrid adsorption. The theoretical maximum adsorption capacity of SAC-6 calculated by Langmuir-Freundlich was 13.48 mg/g. The microcolumn filled with SAC-6 was applied to extract Se(IV) in water solution. The detection limit of Se(IV) analytical procedure was confirmed as 0.27 μg/L within a linear range of 10-1000 μg/L. A good precision with relative standard deviation of 1.34 % (100 μg/L, n = 6) was achieved. The high adaptability and accuracy of SAC-6 microcolumn was validated by analyzing natural water samples and certified reference materials. Our work successfully excavated the application value of the sulfur selectivity, and also provided a new adsorbent for Se(IV) extraction and analysis.