A novel TiO2 nanotube array/Ti wire incorporated solid-phase microextraction fiber with high strength, efficiency and selectivity

A novel solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber is fabricated through the anodization of Ti wire substrates in an electrolyte containing ethylene glycol and NH4F. By a combination of field emission scanning electron microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope studies, it is shown that perpendicularly orientated and well-aligned TiO2 nanotubes are grown in situ on the Ti wire substrate. The SPME fiber coupled with gas chromatograph (GC) is then used to extract polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), anilines, phenols, and alkanes from standard and real water samples, and exhibits high selectivity for PAHs. After the optimization of adsorption factors (pH, ionic strength, time and temperature) and desorption factors (time and temperature) of the SPME fiber for PAHs, the limit of detection (LOD) of less than 0.1 μg L−1 is achieved, and the calibration curves are all linear (R2 ≥ 0.9898) in the range from 0.1 to 1000 μg L−1. Beyond that, the SPME fiber has high strength, large surface area, good stability at high temperature and in acid and alkali solutions, and long service life, making it have strong application potentials in the selective extraction of PAHs from complex samples at trace levels.