Preparation of porous carbon-based molecularly imprinted polymers for separation of triazine herbicides in corn

A synthesis route of using cellulose as the precursor to prepare porous carbon (PC) had been established in this study. The as-prepared PC was introduced as carriers in the synthesis process of porous carbon-molecularly imprinted polymers (PC-MIPs), which greatly improved the absorption capacity of MIPs. Triazine pesticides in corn were extracted with matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) using the PC-MIPs as dispersants and determined by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Under the optimal MSPD condition for extracting six kinds of triazines (simazine, terbutryn, simetryne, prometryne, ametryn, and atrazine), the detection limits were 0.005-0.02 ng g(-1), while the precisions were 1.2-5.9%, and the recoveries were 92.6-104.7%. The method has been extensively applied to analyze various corn samples. Atrazine residue (1.2 mu g kg(-1)) was detected in one corn sample, which was lower than the maximum residual limit indicated by the Chinese stated standards (50 mu g kg(-1)).

Automated summary

A novel synthesis route using cellulose as the precursor to prepare porous carbon was established in this study. The as-prepared porous carbon greatly improved the absorption capacity of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) when used as carriers. The method was successfully applied for the determination of triazine pesticides in corn samples.