Solid phase extraction of Cu2+, Ni2+, and Co2+ ions by a new magnetic nano-composite: excellent reactivity combined with facile extraction and determination.

In the present study, silica magnetite mesoporous nanoparticles functionalized with a new chelating agent were synthesized and introduced as a magnetic solid phase for preconcentration of trace amounts of Cu2+, Ni2+, and Co2+ ions from aqueous solutions. Briefly, MCM-41 mesoporous-coated magnetite nano-particles (MMNPs) with particle size lower than 15 nm were synthesized via chemical co-precipitation methods. Then, N-(4-methoxysalicylidene)-4,5-dinitro-1,2-phenylenediamine (HL) as a new chelating agent was synthesized and used for surface modification of mesoporous magnetic solid phase by dispersive liquid-liquid functionalization (DLLF) as a new rapid method to form HL functionalized mesoporous magnetite nanoparticles (MMNPs─HL). The structure and morphology of prepared sorbent were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, VSM, and TEM. Finally, the prepared nanoparticles were utilized for preconcentration of Cu2+, Ni2+, and Co2+ ions prior to determination by atomic absorption spectrophotometery. The calibration graph was obtained under the optimized conditions with linear dynamic range of 1.0-300 μg L(-1) and correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.998. The detection limits of this method for cobalt, nickel, and copper ions were 0.03, 0.03, and 0.04 ng/mL, respectively. Finally, the method was successfully applied to the extraction and determination of the analyte ions in natural waters and reference plant samples.