Graphene-based materials: fabrication and application for adsorption in analytical chemistry

Magnetic nanoparticle based solid-phase extraction of heavy metal ions: A review on recent advances

This review (with 151 refs) focuses on recent progress that has been made in magnetic nanoparticle-based solid phase extraction (SPE), pre-concentration and speciation of heavy metal ions. In addition, it discusses applications to complex real samples such as environmental, food, and biological matrices. The introduction addresses current obstacles and limitations associated with established SPE approaches and discusses the present state of the art in different formats of off-line and on-line SPE. The next section covers magnetized inorganic nanomaterials for use in SPE, with subsections on magnetic silica, magnetic alumina and titania, and on magnetic layered double oxides. A further section treats magnetized carbonaceous nanomaterials for use in SPE, with subsections on magnetic graphene and/or graphene oxides, magnetic carbon nanotubes and magnetic carbon nitrides. We then discuss the progress made in SPE based on the use of magnetized organic polymers (mainly non-imprinted and ion-imprinted polymer). This is followed by shorter sections on the use of magnetized metal organic frameworks, magnetized ionic liquids and magnetized biosorbents. All sections include discussions of the nanomaterials in terms of selectivity, sorption capacity, mechanisms of sorption and common routes for material synthesis. A concluding section addresses actual challenges and discusses perspective routes towards further improvements. Graphical abstract An overview on booster nanomaterials (ionic liquids, inorganic, organic and biological materials, and metal-organic frameworks) for use in magnetic nanoparticle-based solid-phase extraction of heavy metal ions.

Thermally condensed humic acids onto silica as SPE for effective enrichment of glucocorticoids from environmental waters followed by HPLC-HESI-MS/MS

Pristine humic acids (HAs) were thermally condensed onto silica microparticles by a one-pot, inexpensive and green preparation route obtaining a mixed-mode sorbent (HA-C@silica) with good sorption affinity for glucocorticoids (GCs). The carbon-based material, characterized by various techniques, was indeed applied as the sorbent for fixed-bed solid-phase extraction of eight GCs from river water and wastewater treatment plant effluent, spiked at different concentration levels in the range 1-400 ng L^-1. After sample extraction, the target analytes were simultaneously and quantitatively eluted in a single fraction of methanol, achieving enrichment factor 4000 and 1000 in river water and wastewater effluent, respectively. Full recovery for all compounds, was gained in the real matrices studied (80-125% in river water, 79-126% in wastewater effluent), with inter-day precision showing relative standard deviations (RSD) below 15% and 18% (n = 3), for river and wastewater effluent, correspondingly. The high enrichment factors coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry quantification (MRM mode) provided method quantification limits of 0.009-0.48 ng L^-1 in river water and 0.06-3 ng L^-1 in wastewater effluent and, at the same time, secure identification of the selected drugs. As also evidenced by comparison with literature, HA-C@silica proved to be a valid alternative to the current commercial sorbents, in terms of extraction capability, enrichment factor, ease of preparation and cost. The batch-to-batch reproducibility was assessed by recovery tests on three independently prepared HA-C@silica powders (RSD lower than 7%).

A Review of Current Methods for Analysis of Mycotoxins in Herbal Medicines

The presence of mycotoxins in herbal medicines is an established problem throughout the entire world. The sensitive and accurate analysis of mycotoxin in complicated matrices (e.g., herbs) typically involves challenging sample pretreatment procedures and an efficient detection instrument. However, although numerous reviews have been published regarding the occurrence of mycotoxins in herbal medicines, few of them provided a detailed summary of related analytical methods for mycotoxin determination. This review focuses on analytical techniques including sampling, extraction, cleanup, and detection for mycotoxin determination in herbal medicines established within the past ten years. Dedicated sections of this article address the significant developments in sample preparation, and highlight the importance of this procedure in the analytical technology. This review also summarizes conventional chromatographic techniques for mycotoxin qualification or quantitation, as well as recent studies regarding the development and application of screening assays such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, lateral flow immunoassays, aptamer-based lateral flow assays, and cytometric bead arrays. The present work provides a good insight regarding the advanced research that has been done and closes with an indication of future demand for the emerging technologies.

Facile synthesis of amine-functional reduced graphene oxides as modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe adsorbent for multi-pesticide residues analysis of tea

Amine-functional reduced graphene oxide (amine-rGO) with different carbon chain length amino groups were successfully synthesized. The graphene oxides (GO) reduction as well as amino grafting were achieved simultaneously in one step via a facile solvothermal synthetic strategy. The obtained materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to confirm the modification of GO with different amino groups. The adsorption performance of catechins and caffeine from tea acetonitrile extracts on different amine functional rGO samples were evaluated. It was found that tributylamine-functional rGO (tri-BuA-rGO) exhibited the highest adsorption ability for catechins and caffeine compared to GO and other amino group functional rGO samples. It was worth to note that the adsorption capacity of catechins on tri-BuA-rGO was 11 times higher than that of GO (203.7mgg^-1 vs 18.7mgg^-1). Electrostatic interaction, π-π interaction and surface hydrophilic-hydrophobic properties of tri-BuA-rGO played important roles in the adsorption of catechins as well as caffeine. The gravimetric analysis confirmed that the tri-BuA-rGO achieved the highest efficient cleanup preformance compared with traditional dispersive solid phase extraction (dSPE) adsorbents like primary-secondary amine (PSA), graphitized carbon black (GCB) or C18. A multi-pesticides analysis method based on tri-BuA-rGO is validated on 33 representative pesticides in tea using gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry or high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The analysis method gave a high coefficient of determination (r²>0.99) for each pesticide and satisfactory recoveries in a range of 72.1-120.5%. Our study demonstrated that amine functional rGO as a new type of QuEChERS adsorbent is expected to be widely applied for analysis of pesticides at trace levels.

Electrochemical regeneration of a reduced graphene oxide/magnetite composite adsorbent loaded with methylene blue

In this work, two different reduced graphene oxide/iron oxide (rGO-IO) nanocomposites with different iron oxide loadings were fabricated using a one-step solvothermal method. The structure, properties and applications of the synthesized nanocomposites were evaluated with Raman spectroscopy, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The iron oxide is in the form of magnetite (Fe₃O₄), so that the resultant adsorbent can readily be separated from the treated water using a magnetic field. The ability of the nanocomposites to remove methylene blue (MB) from water by adsorption was investigated. The highest adsorptive capacity observed was 39 mg g^-1, for the composite containing 60 wt% iron oxide. The adsorptive capacity of the rGO-IO decreased to 26 mg g^-1 when the mass fraction of iron oxide was increased to 75 wt%. Electrochemical regeneration of MB loaded rGO-IO was also investigated. The electrochemical regeneration was found to be rapid and with low electrical energy consumption relative to conventional adsorbents, due to the high electrical conductivity and nonporous surface of the rGO. A regeneration efficiency of 100% was obtained after 30 min of electrochemical treatment using a 2 mm thick bed of rGO-IO loaded with 39 mg g^-1 MB, using a current density of 10 mA cm^-2. Multiple adsorption-electrochemical regeneration cycles demonstrated that the surface of the rGO was modified leading to increase in the adsorptive capacity to around 80 mg g^-1 after the second regeneration cycle. The morphology of the rGO was observed to change significantly after electrochemical regeneration, suggesting that the rGO based adsorbent materials could only be used for a few cycles.

Graphene oxide adsorbent based dispersive solid phase extraction coupled with multi-pretreatment clean-up for analysis of trace aflatoxins in traditional proprietary Chinese medicines

Graphene oxide (GO)-based dispersive solid phase extraction (D-SPE) method combined with multi-step preparation has been proposed for the evaluation of trace aflatoxins in proprietary Chinese medicines (PCM). After being extracted by methanol, the sample was purified based on multi-step preparation, including dehydration with MgSO₄/NaCl and cleanup with neutral alumina. Then GO was used as an adsorbent in D-SPE method for further preconcentration of aflatoxins prior to high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection. The selected conditions were investigated. The Box-Behnken design (BBD) was used to optimize factors affecting adsorption procedure. Under the optimized conditions, good linear relationships had been achieved with the correlation coefficient (R²) varying from 0.9904 to 0.9990. The LODs and LOQs were ranging from 0.020 to 0.041ng/mL and 0.061 to 0.125ng/mL, respectively. The results of the recoveries were 74.0-102.7% for the four aflatoxins, while the precisions from 1.8% to 7.2% were obtained, which indicated that the method was suitable for the analysis of aflatoxins in PCM.

Highly efficient simultaneous adsorption of Cd(ii), Hg(ii) and As(iii) ions from aqueous solutions by modification of graphene oxide with 3-aminopyrazole: central composite design optimization

Efficient simultaneous adsorption of heavy metal ions from solutions by modified graphene oxide with 3-aminopyrazole using central composite design modeling.

A graphene-based porous carbon material as a stationary phase for gas chromatographic separations

The GPCM column exhibits high resolving capability for structural and positional isomers from nonpolar to polar nature.

Facile Synthesis of Mesocrystalline SnO2 Nanorods on Reduced Graphene Oxide Sheets: An Appealing Multifunctional Affinity Probe for Sequential Enrichment of Endogenous Peptides and Phosphopeptides

A novel multifunctional composite comprising mesocrystalline SnO₂ nanorods (NRs) vertically aligned on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets was synthesized and developed for sequential capture of endogenous peptides and phosphopeptides. With the hydrophobicity of rGO and high affinity of SnO₂ nanorods, sequential enrichment of endogenous peptides and phosphopeptides could be easily achieved through a modulation of elution buffer. With this multifunctional nanomaterial, 36 peptides were observed from diluted bovine serum albumin (BSA) tryptic digest and 4 phosphopeptides could be selectively captured from β-casein digest. The detection limit of tryptic digest of β-casein was low to 4 × 10^-10 M, and the selectivity was up to 1:500 (molar ratio of β-casein and BSA digest). The effectiveness and robustness of rGO-SnO₂ NRs in a complex biological system was also confirmed by using human serum as a real sample. Our work is promising for small peptide enrichment and identification especially in complicated biological sample preparation, which also opens a new perspective in the design of multifunctional affinity probes for proteome or peptidome.

Solid-phase nanoextraction of polychlorinated biphenyls in water and their determination by gas chromatography with electron capture detector

A solid-phase nanoextraction method has been developed for the extraction and preconcentration of polychlorinated biphenyls using carboxyl multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a solid nano-sorbent. Parameters affecting extraction efficiency such as sorbent amount, desorption solvent type and volume, extraction time, pH, and salt content have been studied. Under optimized conditions, the correlation coefficient was up to 0.9989, the limits of detection was in the range of 1.4-3.5 ng/L, and limits of quantification was between 4.8 and 11.6 ng/L. The recoveries were in the range of 99-106% for different spiked analytes. The relative standard deviation for water samples spiked with two different spiking levels has been between 4 and 10%. The proposed sustainable method is rapid, easy to use, and small consumption of organic solvent for the detection and determination of trace levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in environmental waters.

Highly efficient ultrasonic-assisted removal of Hg(II) ions on graphene oxide modified with 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone: Adsorption isotherms and kinetics studies

A novel adsorbent, based on modifying graphene oxide (GO) chemically with 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (2-PTSC) as ligand, was designed by facile process for removal of Hg(II) from aqueous solution. Characterization of the adsorbent was performed using various techniques, such as FT-IR, XRD, XPS, SEM and AFM analysis. The adsorption capacity was affected by variables such as adsorbent dosage, pH solution, Hg(2+) initial concentration and sonicating time. These variables were optimized by rotatable central composite design (CCD) under response surface methodology (RSM). The predictive model for Hg(II) adsorption was constructed and applied to find the best conditions at which the responses were maximized. In this conditions, the adsorption capacity of this adsorbent for Hg(2+) ions was calculated to be 309mgg(-1) that was higher than that of GO. Appling the ultrasound power combined with adsorption method was very efficient in shortening the removal time of Hg(2+) ions by enhancing the dispersion of adsorbent and metal ions in solution and effective interactions among them. The adsorption process was well described by second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm model in which the maximum adsorption capacity (Qm) was found to be 555mgg(-1) for adsorption of Hg(2+) ions over the obtained adsorbent. The performance of adsorbent was examined on the real wastewaters and confirmed the applicability of adsorbent for practical applications.

Highly efficient simultaneous ultrasonic-assisted adsorption of Pb(II), Cd(II), Ni(II) and Cu (II) ions from aqueous solutions by graphene oxide modified with 2,2'-dipyridylamine: Central composite design optimization

In present work, a graphene oxide chemically modified with 2,2'-dipyridylamine (GO-DPA), was synthesized by simple, fast and low-cost process for the simultaneous adsorption of four toxic heavy metals, Pb(II), Cd(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II), from aqueous solutions. The synthesized adsorbent was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, XPS, SEM and AFM measurements. The effects of variables such as pH solution, initial ion concentrations, adsorbent dosage and sonicating time were investigated on adsorption efficiency by rotatable central composite design. The optimum conditions, specified as 8mg of adsorbent, 20mgL(-1) of each ion at pH 5 and short time of 4min led to the achievement of a high adsorption capacities. Ultrasonic power had important role in shortening the adsorption time of ions by enhancing the dispersion of adsorbent in solution. The adsorption kinetic studies and equilibrium isotherms for evaluating the mechanism of adsorption process showed a good fit to the pseudo-second order and Langmuir model, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacities (Qm) of this adsorbent were 369.749, 257.201, 180.893 and 358.824mgg(-1) for lead, cadmium, nickel and copper ions, respectively. The removal performance of adsorbent on the real wastewater samples also showed the feasibility of adsorbent for applying in industrial purposes.

Graphene/graphene oxide and their derivatives in the separation/isolation and preconcentration of protein species: A review

The distinctive/unique electrical, chemical and optical properties make graphene/graphene oxide-based materials popular in the field of analytical chemistry. Its large surface offers excellent capacity to anchor target analyte, making it an powerful sorbent in the adsorption and preconcentration of trace level analyte of interest in the field of sample preparation. The large delocalized π-electron system of graphene framework provides strong affinity to species containing aromatic rings, such as proteins, and the abundant active sites on its surface offers the chance to modulate adsorption tendency towards specific protein via functional modification/decoration. This review provides an overview of the current research on graphene/graphene oxide-based materials as attractive and powerful adsorption media in the separation/isolation and preconcentration of protein species from biological sample matrixes. These practices are aiming at providing protein sample of high purity for further investigations and applications, or to achieve certain extent of enrichment prior to quantitative assay. In addition, the challenges and future perspectives in the related research fields have been discussed.

2D Transition-Metal-Dichalcogenide-Nanosheet-Based Composites for Photocatalytic and Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reactions

Hydrogen (H2) is one of the most important clean and renewable energy sources for future energy sustainability. Nowadays, photocatalytic and electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) from water splitting are considered as two of the most efficient methods to convert sustainable energy to the clean energy carrier, H2. Catalysts based on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are recognized as greatly promising substitutes for noble-metal-based catalysts for HER. The photocatalytic and electrocatalytic activities of TMD nanosheets for the HER can be further improved after hybridization with many kinds of nanomaterials, such as metals, oxides, sulfides, and carbon materials, through different methods including the in situ reduction method, the hot-injection method, the heating-up method, the hydro(solvo)thermal method, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and thermal annealing. Here, recent progress in photocatalytic and electrocatalytic HERs using 2D TMD-based composites as catalysts is discussed.

Tailoring the Oxygen Content of Graphite and Reduced Graphene Oxide for Specific Applications

Graphene oxide (GO) is widely recognized as a promising material in a variety of fields, but its structure and composition has yet to be fully controlled. We have developed general strategies to control the oxidation degree of graphene-like materials via two methods: oxidation of graphite by KMnO4 in H2SO4 (oGO), and reduction of highly oxidized GO by hydrazine (rGO). Even though the oxygen content may be the same, oGO and rGO have different properties, for example the adsorption ability, oxidation ability, and electron conductivity. These differences in property arise from the difference in the underlying graphitic structure and the type of defect present. Our results can be used as a guideline for the production of tailor-made graphitic carbons. As an example, we show that rGO with 23.1 wt% oxygen showed the best performance as an electrode of an electric double-layer capacitor.

Theoretical study of adsorption of amino acids on graphene and BN sheet in gas and aqueous phase with empirical DFT dispersion correction

Suitability of BN nanosheet/graphene towards the adsorption of amino acids established by dispersion corrected DFT calculations.

Magnetic graphene-carbon nanotube iron nanocomposites as adsorbents and antibacterial agents for water purification

One of the biggest challenges of the 21st century is to provide clean and affordable water through protecting source and purifying polluted waters. This review presents advances made in the synthesis of carbon- and iron-based nanomaterials, graphene-carbon nanotubes-iron oxides, which can remove pollutants and inactivate virus and bacteria efficiently in water. The three-dimensional graphene and graphene oxide based nanostructures exhibit large surface area and sorption sites that provide higher adsorption capacity to remove pollutants than two-dimensional graphene-based adsorbents and other conventional adsorbents. Examples are presented to demonstrate removal of metals (e.g., Cu, Pb, Cr(VI), and As) and organics (e.g., dyes and oil) by grapheme-based nanostructures. Inactivation of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species (e.g., Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) is also shown. A mechanism involving the interaction of adsorbents and pollutants is briefly discussed. Magnetic graphene-based nanomaterials can easily be separated from the treated water using an external magnet; however, there are challenges in implementing the graphene-based nanotechnology in treating real water.

L-cysteine-capped core/shell/shell quantum dot-graphene oxide nanocomposite fluorescence probe for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon detection

Environmental pollutants, such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), become widely distributed in the environment after emission from a range of sources, and they have potential biological effects, including toxicity and carcinogenity. In this work, we have demonstrated the analytical potential of a covalently linked L-cysteine-capped CdSeTe/ZnSe/ZnS core/shell/shell quantum dot (QD)-graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite fluorescence probe to detect PAH compounds in aqueous solution. Water-soluble L-cysteine-capped CdSeTe/ZnSe/ZnS QDs were synthesized for the first time and were covalently bonded to GO. The fluorescence of the QD-GO nanocomposite was enhanced relative to the unconjugated QDs. Various techniques including TEM, SEM, HRSEM, XRD, Raman, FT-IR, UV/vis and fluorescence spectrophotometry were employed to characterize both the QDs and the QD-GO nanocomposite. Four commonly found priority PAH analytes namely; phenanthrene (Phe), anthracene (Ant), pyrene (Py) and naphthalene (Naph), were tested and it was found that each of the PAH analytes enhanced the fluorescence of the QD-GO probe. Phe was selected for further studies as the PL enhancement was significantly greater for this PAH. A limit of detection (LOD) of 0.19 µg/L was obtained for Phe under optimum conditions, whilst the LOD of Ant, Py and Naph were estimated to be ~0.26 µg/L. The fluorescence detection mechanism is proposed.

Spectrophotometric determination of basic fuchsin from various water samples after vortex assisted solid phase extraction using reduced graphene oxide as an adsorbent

In this study, a fast and simple vortex assisted solid phase extraction method was developed for the separation/preconcentration of basic fuchsin in various water samples. The determination of basic fuchsin was carried out at a wavelength of 554 nm by spectrophotometry. Reduced graphene oxide which was used as a solid phase extractor was synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and the Brunauer, Emmett and Teller. The optimum conditions are as follows: pH 2, contact times for adsorption and elution of 30 s and 90 s, respectively, 10 mg adsorbent, and eluent (ethanol) volume of 1 mL. The effects of some interfering ions and dyes were investigated. The method was linear in the concentration range of 50-250 μg L(-1). The adsorption capacity was 34.1 mg g(-1). The preconcentration factor, limit of detection and precision (RSD, %) of the method were found to be 400, 0.07 μg L(-1) and 1.2%, respectively. The described method was validated by analyzing basic fuchsin spiked certified reference material (SPS-WW1 Batch 114-Wastewater) and spiked real water samples.

A review of biosensing techniques for detection of trace carcinogen contamination in food products

Carcinogen contaminations in the food chain, for example heavy metal ions, pesticides, acrylamide, and mycotoxins, have caused serious health problems. A major objective of food-safety research is the identification and prevention of exposure to these carcinogens, because of their impossible-to-reverse tumorigenic effects. However, carcinogen detection is difficult because of their trace-level presence in food. Thus, reliable and accurate separation and determination methods are essential to protect food safety and human health. This paper summarizes the state of the art in separation and determination methods for analyzing carcinogen contamination, especially the advances in biosensing methods. Furthermore, the application of promising technology including nanomaterials, imprinted polymers, and microdevices is detailed. Challenges and perspectives are also discussed.

Sorption of radionuclides from aqueous systems onto graphene oxide-based materials: a review

Graphene oxide-based nanomaterials are suitable materials for the preconcentration of radionuclides and heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions in environmental pollution cleanup.

Suspended aminosilanized graphene oxide nanosheets for selective preconcentration of lead ions and ultrasensitive determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The aminosilanized graphene oxide (GO-NH2) was prepared for selective adsorption of Pb(II) ions. Graphene oxide (GO) and GO-NH2 prepared through the amino-silanization of GO with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The batch experiments show that GO-NH2 is characterized by high selectivity toward Pb(II) ions. Adsorption isotherms suggest that sorption of Pb(II) on GO-NH2 nanosheets is monolayer coverage, and adsorption is controlled by a chemical process involving the surface complexation of Pb(II) ions with the nitrogen-containing groups on the surface of GO-NH2. Pb(II) ions can be quantitatively adsorbed at pH 6 with maximum adsorption capacity of 96 mg g(-1). The GO-NH2 was used for selective and sensitive determination of Pb(II) ions by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET-AAS). The preconcentration of Pb(II) ions is based on dispersive micro solid-phase extraction in which the suspended GO-NH2 is rapidly injected into analyzed water sample. Such features of GO-NH2 nanosheets as wrinkled structure, softness, flexibility, and excellent dispersibility in water allow achieving very good contact with analyzed solution, and adsorption of Pb(II) ions is very fast. The experiment shows that after separation of the solid phase, the suspension of GO-NH2 with adsorbed Pb(II) ions can be directly injected into the graphite tube and analyzed by ET-AAS. The GO-NH2 is characterized by high selectivity toward Pb(II) ions and can be successfully used for analysis of various water samples with excellent enrichment factors of 100 and detection limits of 9.4 ng L(-1).