Preparation, characterization, and application of a new thiol-functionalized ionic liquid for highly selective extraction of Cd(II)

A highly selective thiol-functionalized ionic liquid (thiol-FIL) was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR and ESI mass spectroscopy. The capability of thiol-FIL to extract Cd(II), Ni(II), Cr(III) and Pb(II) was evaluated. It is found that thiol-FIL possesses high selectivity for Cd(II), and this has led to a method for determination of Cd(II) by flame atomic absorption spectrometry that is free of interferences by up to a 1,000-fold excess of Na(I), Mg(II), Ca(II), Mn(II), Fe(III), Al(III), Cu(II), Zn(II), Ni(II), Cr(III), Co(II), As(III), Pb(II), and Hg(II). With extraction equilibrium time of 1 min, a good linearity (r = 0.9998) and a detection limit of 0.39 mu gL(-1) were obtained. The precision (RSD) for 11 replicate measurements of 10 mu gL(-1) Cd was 1.6%. The method was validated using certified reference materials. The recoveries of cadmium in spiked real samples ranged from 97% to 102%.