Polyelectrolyte functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes as strong anion-exchange material for the extraction of acidic degradation products of nerve agents

Extraction, enrichment and gas chromatography mass spectrometric analysis of degradation products of nerve agents from water is of significant importance for verification of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and gathering forensic evidence of use of nerve agents. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were non-covalently functionalized with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) to afford the cationic functionalized nano-tubes, which were used as solid-phase anionic-exchanger sorbents to extract the acidic degradation products of nerve agents from water. Extraction efficiencies of MWCNTs–PDDA were compared with those of mixed mode anion-exchange (HLB) and silica based strong anion-exchange (Si-SAX) cartridges. Optimized extraction parameters included MWCNTs–PDDA 12 mg, washing solvent 5 mL water and eluting solvent 3 mL of 0.1 M aqueous HCl followed by 3 mL methanol. At 1 ng mL−1 spiking concentration of mono- and di-basic phosphonic acids, MWCNTs–PDDA exhibited higher extraction efficiencies in comparison to Si-SAX and HLB. The limits of detection were achieved down to 0.05 and 0.11 ng mL−1 in selected ion and full scan monitoring mode respectively; and limits of quantification in selected ion monitoring mode were achieved down to 0.21 ng mL−1.

► Cationic polyelectrolyte wrapping over Multiwalled carbon nanotubes.
► Wrapped CNTs: chemically stable and excellent strong anion-exchange adsorbents.
► Use for extraction of anionic degradation products of highly toxic nerve agents.
► Efficiency compared with conventional anion-exchange SPE adsorbents.