A new poly(phthalazine ether sulfone ketone)-coated fiber for solid-phase microextraction to determine nitroaromatic explosives in aqueous samples

A novel polar solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coated with poly(phthalazine ether sulfone ketone) (PPESK) was prepared by immersion precipitation technique. The microstructure of the coating exhibits a sponge-like sublayer supporting a dense cracking shaped top layer (about 1 μm in thickness). This coating shows long lifetime (up to 100 times) and is stable at desorption temperature up to 290 °C due to the rigid aromatic rings in chemical structure. We evaluated the extraction-desorption properties of the PPESK fiber for nitroaromatic explosives in aqueous samples. The parameters affecting the extraction were optimized, including extraction temperature and time, salt addition, desorption temperature and time. Limits of detection (LOD), precisions and linear dynamic range for the analysis of explosives by SPME–GC/TSD or ECD were evaluated. Limits of detection of the new fiber was three orders of magnitude lower than those with carbowax/divinylbenzene (CW/DVB), and the relative standard deviation (RSD) of single fiber and fiber-to-fiber were less than 9.3 and 10.4%, respectively. The results demonstrated that the PPESK coating exhibited high extraction efficiency for nitroaromatic compounds due to the π–π interaction, dipole–dipole interactions and interactions by polar functional groups. The method was applied to the analysis of nitroaromatic explosives in real aqueous samples including seawater and groundwater samples, with relative recoveries better than 90.7%.