Multiple monolithic fiber solid-phase microextraction: A new extraction approach for aqueous samples

• A new multiple monolithic fiber SPME (MMF-SPME) was designed and prepared.
• Effect of the numbers of fibers in MMF-SPME on extraction efficiency was studied.
• MMF-SPME can extract chlorophenols effectively in short time.
• Sensitive determination method for chlorophenols in water samples was developed.

A novel multiple monolithic fiber solid-phase microextraction (MMF-SPME) was designed and prepared. Two steps were involved in the preparation of MMF-SPME. Firstly, single thin fiber (0.5 mm in diameter) was prepared by co-polymerization of vinylimidazole and ethylene dimethacrylate. Secondly, several thin fibers were bound together to obtain the MMF assembly. The extraction and desorption dynamics of MMF-SPME with different numbers of fibers were studied in detail. In order to demonstrate the usability of the new MMF-SPME, the extraction performance of MMF-SPME for 2-chlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and pentachlorophenol was investigated in direct SPME mode. Results indicated that aqueous samples could form convection effectively within MMF-SPME because there were gaps between fibers. The extraction procedure was accelerated by the convection. At the same time, the MMF-SPME possessed high extraction capacity because more sorbent was employed. Under the optimized extraction conditions, low detection limits (S/N = 3) and quantification limits (S/N = 10) for the target analytes were achieved within the range of 0.13–0.29 μg/L and 0.44–0.98 μg/L, respectively. The MMF-SPME also showed a very long lifespan and good repeatability. Finally, the MMF-SPME was successfully applied to the analysis of tap, lake and ground water samples with spiked recoveries in the range of 73.8–101%.