Magnetic solid phase extraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometrical analysis of sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

•Fluorenyl functionalized sorbent was prepared for magnetic solid phase extraction.•The MSPE was quick and the extraction time was only 5 min.•GC–MS analysis was rapid and can be finished within 22 min.•The proposed sorbent was compared with other sorbents reported in literature.

Fluorenyl functionalized superparamagnetic core/shell magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs, Fe3O4@SiO2@Flu) were prepared and characterized by transmission electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. The MNPs having an average diameter of 200 nm were then used as solid-phase extraction sorbent for the determination of 16 priority pollutants polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water samples designated by United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). The main influencing parameters, including sorbent amount, desorption solvent, sample volume and extraction time were optimized. Analyses were performed on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) using selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. Method validation proved the feasibility of the developed sorbents for the quantitation of the investigated analytes at trace levels. Limit of detection ranging from 0.5 to 4.0 ng/L were obtained. The repeatability was investigated by evaluating the intra- and inter-day precisions with relative standard deviations (RSDs) lower than 13.1%. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of PAHs in water samples with the recoveries in the range of 96.0–106.7%.