Convenient synthesis of a hyper-cross-linked polymer via knitting strategy for high-performance solid phase microextraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Precise quantifications of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been the focus in recent years due to the low concertation in environment and greatly potential damage on human health. The Rubrene (Rub) was used as the raw material to obtain a hyper-cross-linked polymer (HCP-Rub) via Friedel-Crafts reaction, which was further fabricated as a novel SPME coating. The abundant benzene rings on Rub could act as reactive sites, leading to the facile synthesis of HCP-Rub. Moreover, the as-prepared HCP-Rub possessed rich micropores, strong hydrophobicity and large conjugated structure, which made it an ideal candidate for the efficient enrichments of PAHs. The extraction efficiencies of HCP-Rub coated SPME fiber for PAHs were 1.5-16.4 times of the commercial PDMS fiber (100 mu m), and 1.2-1.6 times of the commercial PDMS/DVB (65 mu m) fiber, respectively. Under optimal conditions, the HCP-Rub coated fiber demonstrated high enhancement factors, ranging from 1331 to 3089. It was further coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to establish an analytical method with wide linear ranges (5-1000 ng.L-1) and low detection limits (0.11-0.98 ng.L-1). Finally, the method was successfully applied to the determinations of trace PAHs in environmental water samples with good recoveries (83.7-108%).

Automated summary

This study focuses on the precise quantifications of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using a novel SPME coating made from Rubrene via Friedel-Crafts reaction. The resulting HCP-Rub coating possesses rich micropores, strong hydrophobicity, and large conjugated structure, making it ideal for efficient enrichment of PAHs. Compared to commercial fibers, the HCP-Rub coated fiber exhibits higher extraction efficiencies for PAHs and enables the establishment of a sensitive analytical method. The method was successfully applied to the determination of trace PAHs in environmental water samples with good recoveries.