Determination of mercury in wastewater using a molecularly imprinted polymer as solid phase extraction sorbent and cv-icp-oes

Abstract

In this study, a molecularly imprinted polymer based on the formation of the phenobarbital-methylmercury complex was used as a solid phase extraction sorbent for the preconcentration of mercury in waters and subsequent analysis by CV-ICP-OES. A number of important operating parameters were optimized: pH of the sample (pH = 8), sample flow rate, elution volume (5 mL of IM thiourea/1 M HCl), mass of polymer in the cartridge (300 mg), and volume of sample (200 mL). The analytical performance of the method was evaluated with good recovery (105%) at 0.05 μg L-1 of mercury (environmental quality standard established by the European Union) and a preconcentration factor of 40. The method was also applied to the analysis of wastewater samples.