Combination of microporous membrane liquid–liquid extraction and capillary electrophoresis for the analysis of aromatic amines in water samples

A method has been established for the simultaneous analysis of eight aromatic amines in water samples by the combination of capillary zone electrophoresis and microporous membrane liquid–liquid extraction (MMLLE). Eight aromatic amines including N,N-dimethylaniline, m-methylaniline, 3,4-dimethylaniline, 2naphthylamine, 1-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl, 2-chloroaniline and 2,4-chloroaniline were well separated under optimal separation conditions. The influence factors relevant to the MMLLE process were investigated and the final optimized parameters were used for analysis. The correlation coefficients were excellent with R^2 values larger than 0.99 and the detection limits (S/N=3) were in the range of 0.16–7.5 ng ml^-1. The precision and recoveries were within the ranges of 1.7–13.5 and 78.8–112.6%, respectively.