Fabrication of powdery polymer aerogel as the stationary phase for high-resolution gas chromatographic separation

Facile fabrication of composited solid phase microextraction thin membranes for sensitive detections of trace hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in human urine

Solid phase microextraction (SPME) has potential to be used for the high-performance enrichments of hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAHs), which are important biomarkers of PAH exposure. By choosing suitable adsorbent, it is conducive to fabricate new-type of SPME device for improved extraction efficiencies towards OH-PAHs. In this study, a novel method of surface solvent evaporation has been proposed to fabricate SPME thin membrane, integrating the advantages of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and different porous adsorbents. The powdery metal organic framework (Uio66-NH₂), porous polymer (powdery polymer aerogel, PPA) and ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) have been chosen as typical adsorbents and fabricated as thin membranes successfully, indicating the universality of the proposed method for membrane fabrication. Comparing the extraction efficiencies of three prepared membranes towards OH-PAHs, the OMC-PDMS membrane has demonstrated best enrichment efficiencies. The OMC-PDMS membrane was used for the enrichments of trace OH-PAHs in human urine of both smokers and nonsmokers, combining with liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The detection limits were in the range of 0.15-0.39 ng L^-1, and satisfactory recoveries were found to be 82.1%-115%. It can be seen that the universal strategy to fabricate SPME membrane is helpful to achieve broad-spectrum or selective enrichments of target analytes from complex matrix by simple modulation of membrane components.

Facile construction of superhydrophobic hybrids of metal-organic framework grown on nanosheet for high-performance extraction of benzene homologues

Encapsulating functional nanomaterials within the bulk of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offers the opportunity to construct high-performance hybrid coating materials for solid phase microextraction (SPME). In this work, we proposed the facile synthesis of a superhydrophobic MOF composite material (_NSZIF-8^Si) by growing ZIF-8 on Mn_xO_y nanosheet (NS) and subsequently depositing short-chain polysiloxane on the surface of the composite. A novel SPME fiber was successfully prepared based on the _NSZIF-8^Si composite. The _NSZIF-8^Si fiber possessed outstanding thermal stability (up to 450 °C). In headspace SPME of BTEX, the home-made fiber exhibited extraction efficiencies much higher than the commercially available PDMS fiber. This phenomenon was due to the synergetic cooperation of the π-π stacking and the hydrophobic interactions between the _NSZIF-8^Si coating and the analyte molecules, as well as the increased aspect ratio of the MOF grown on the nanosheet. The established method achieved wide linearity (5-2000 ng L^-1) and low LODs (0.02 ng L^-1 to 0.21 ng L^-1). Satisfactory recoveries were obtained in the analysis of real water samples collected from the Pearl River, indicative of the good reliability of the established method for real-scenario applications. This work might provide critical insights in constructing novel NS/MOF composite materials for the development of high-performance SPME fiber coatings.

Covalent organic nanospheres: facile preparation and application in high-resolution gas chromatographic separation

A facile and rapid room-temperature solution-phase strategy was used to fabricate covalent organic nanospheres with uniform morphology and outstanding thermal/solvent stability for GC separation.