Preparation and characterization of SPE column with smart green molecularly imprinted polymers materials for...

The presence of traces of herbicides in ground and surface waters can have adverse impacts on humans and the environment. Therefore, developing a highly selective and reusable adsorbent for monitoring water quality has become important. This article describes smart green molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as selective sorbents of S-metolachlor herbicide for solid phase extraction (SPE). Combining the MIP-SPE column with HPLC chromatography provided a quick and accurate method for determining the real concentration of S-metolachlor in water samples. The sorption capacity of the MIP-SPE column was almost twice that of the non-imprinted polymer column for SPE extraction. The bed can be regenerated up to three times before it loses its original sorption properties. A method has been developed whereby 6 ml of water can achieve an average recovery rate of 98% for sorbent. During the selectivity study from multicomponent solution, the calculate imprinting factor for MIPs was calculated to be 10, while MIPs sorb S-metolachlor 10 times better than atrazine, 12 times better than fenoxaprop-P-ethyl and 33 times better than glyphosate. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model was in good agreement with the experimental values obtained.