Development of a sequential injection dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction system for electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry by using a hydrophobic sorbent material: Determination of lead and cadmium in natural waters

A novel on-line sequential injection (SI) dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) system coupled to electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) was developed for metal preconcentration in micro-scale, eliminating the laborious and time consuming procedure of phase separation with centrifugation. The potentials of the system were demonstrated for trace lead and cadmium determination in water samples. An appropriate disperser solution which contains the extraction solvent (xylene) and the chelating agent (ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate) in methanol is mixed on-line with the sample solution (aqueous phase), resulting thus, a cloudy solution, which is consisted of fine droplets of xylene, dispersed throughout the aqueous phase. Three procedures are taking place simultaneously: cloudy solution creation, analyte complex formation and extraction from aqueous phase into the fine droplets of xylene. Subsequently the droplets were retained on the hydrophobic surface of PTFE-turnings into the column. A part of 30 μL of the eluent (methyl isobutyl ketone) was injected into furnace graphite for analyte atomization and quantification. The sampling frequency was 10 h−1, and the obtained enrichment factor was 80 for lead and 34 for cadmium. The detection limit was 10 ng L−1 and 2 ng L−1, while the precision expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) was 3.8% (at 0.5 μg L−1) and 4.1% (at 0.03 μg L−1) for lead and cadmium respectively. The proposed method was evaluated by analyzing certified reference materials and was applied to the analysis of natural waters.