Trace analysis of ten chlorinated benzenes in water by headspace solid-phase microextraction

Headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME), as a simple, solvent-free method, has been applied to the analysis of 10 chlorinated benzenes (CBs) present at trace levels in water samples. An SPME fibre coated with 100-μm thick poly(dimethylsiloxane) was used for extraction. The analytical data exhibited a relative standard deviation (RSD) range of 1.19% (for pentachlorobenzene) to 8.19% (for hexachlorobenzene) for the 10 CBs; the RSD of most compounds was under 6%. The sensitivity of the method was enhanced with agitation and with addition of salt to the sample solutions. With mass spectrometric detection, the limit of detection was below 0.006 μg/l for all 10 CBs after a 30-min sampling time. The linearity range was 0.02–20 μg/l for the compounds studied. Water samples collected from a reservoir, and from the tap in a laboratory were analysed using the optimised conditions.