Suspended nanoparticles in surfactant media as a microextraction technique for simultaneous separation and preconcentration of cobalt, nickel and copper ions for electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry determination

The aim of this study was to describe a new method of microextraction based on the suspension of alumina nanoparticles in the surfactant media for simultaneous separation and preconcentration of the ultra-traces of cobalt, nickel and copper ions. In this technique, the alumina nanoparticles were suspended in the non-ionic surfactant solution of Triton X-114. The analytes in the sample solution were adsorbed onto the nanoparticles. After the phase separation based on the cloud point of the mixture at 40 °C, the nanoparticles settled down in the surfactant rich phase. Then 120 μL of nitric acid (3.0 mol L−1) was added to the surfactant rich phase which caused desorption of the analytes. Finally, the liquid phase was separated by centrifugation from the nanoparticles and was used for the quantification of the analytes by the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). The parameters affecting the extraction and detection processes were optimized. Under the optimized experimental conditions (i.e. pH∼8, Triton X-114, 0.05% (v/v); temperature 40 °C), a sample volume of 25 mL resulted in the enhancement factors of 198, 205 and 206 and detection limits (defined as 3Sb/m) of 2.5, 2.8 and 2.6 ng L−1 for Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) respectively. The sorbent showed high capacity for these metal ions (30–40 mg g−1 sorbent). The method was successfully applied to the determination of the analytes in natural water samples.