Simultaneous extraction and determination of lead, cadmium and copper in rice samples by a new pre-concentration technique: Hollow fiber solid phase microextraction combined with differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry

In the present work, a novel solid phase microextraction (SPME) technique using a hollow fiber-supported sol–gel combined with multi-walled carbon nanotubes, coupled with differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) was employed in the simultaneous extraction and determination of lead, cadmium and copper in rice. In this technique, an innovative solid sorbent containing mixture of carbon nanotube and a composite microporous compound was developed by the sol–gel method via the reaction of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) with 2-amino-2-hydroxymethyl-propane-1,3-diol (TRIS). The growth process was initiated in basic condition (pH 10–11). Afterward this sol was injected into a polypropylene hollow fiber segment for in situ gelation process. The main factors influencing the pre-concentration and extraction of the metal ions; pH of the aqueous feed solution, extraction time, aqueous feed volume, agitation speed, the role of carbon nanotube reinforcement (as-grown and functionalized MWCNT) and salting effect have been examined in detail. Under the optimized conditions, linear calibration curves were established for the concentration of Cd(II), Pb(II) and Cu(II) in the range of 0.05–500, 0.05–500 and 0.01–100 ng mL−1, respectively. Detection limits obtained in this way are, 0.01, 0.025 and 0.0073 ng mL−1 for Cd(II), Pb(II) and Cu(II), respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) were found to be less than 5% (n = 5, conc.: 1.0 ng mL−1).