Facile construction of magnetic solid-phase extraction of polyaniline blend poly(amidoamine) dendrimers modified graphene oxide quantum dots for efficient adsorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water

An efficient magneto–adsorbent composed of polyaniline blend poly(amidoamine) dendrimers modified graphene oxide quantum dots and magnetic Fe3O4 particles (Fe3O4@PANI–PSS/PAMAM–QGO) for magnetic solid–phase extraction (MSPE) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental water was synthesized. Fe3O4@PANI–PSS/PAMAM–QGO exhibited exceptional adsorption property for most PAHs analytes. The nanocomposite sorbent demonstrated a ferromagnetic behavior of 17.457 emu g−1, which is adequate for subsequent use in MSPE. Key parameters affecting the processes of adsorption and desorption, including the sorbent amount, vortex adsorption time, vortex extraction time, sample volume, a solvent for desorption and the solvent volume were all examined and optimized. The performance of MSPE using Fe3O4@PANI–PSS/PAMAM–QGO as adsorbent for four PAHs, including fluoranthene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene and pyrene were studied through high performance liquid chromatography equipped with spectrofluorometer. Under the optimal conditions, Fe3O4@PANI–PSS/PAMAM–QGO showed a wide linearity of 10–1,000 ng mL−1, low detection limit (LOD) ranging from 1.92 to 4.25 ng mL -1 and high accuracy (recoveries of 93.6–96.5 %). Enrichment factors up to 185 were achieved. Furthermore, Fe3O4@PANI–PSS/PAMAM–QGO exhibited good recyclability (10 times, RSDs ≤ 5.35%), while maintaining its high efficiency in the extraction of PAHs. The proposed method was successfully applied for environmental samples. Recoveries ranging from 81.2 to 106.2 % were obtained, indicating a low matrix effect and the robustness of the optimized MSPE method. Based on these features and under the optimal extraction conditions, Fe3O4@PANI–PSS/PAMAM–QGO was demonstrated to be a successful tool for the rapid and sensitive extraction of PAHs in the samples.