Recent advances in the adsorbents for isolation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from environmental sample solutions

This article offers a critical review on the materials that have been applied as adsorbents in the isolation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from matrix solutions. The review looks at adsorbents that have been used during the clean-up stage to isolate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from aqueous samples and organic solvent extracts from treatment of solid samples. Articles that report the application of adsorbents for solid phase extraction and solid phase microextraction of PAHs in the past decade stretching from 2007 were considered. The review focussed mainly on recent advances that have been done to enhance the applicability of both traditional adsorbents like silica, and modern ones like molecularly imprinted polymers and nanoparticles. The application of adsorbents modified with functional organic groups is critically evaluated with areas for possible improvement suggested. Finally, the authors offer areas of exploration that can allow the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to reach new heights.