Preparation of 4-butylaniline-bonded attapulgite for pre-concentration of bisphenol A in trace quantity

●4-Butylaniline-bonded attapulgite was prepared and characterized.●The material has high affinity to bisphenol A with Langmuir adsorption model.●SPE of bisphenol A was achieved using the material as an adsorbent.●An HPLC method for detection of bisphenol A in trace quantity was developed.

Ring-opening reaction with synchronous hydrolysis was used to prepare 4-butylaniline-modified attapulgite (abbreviated as BA-ATP) for pre-concentration of bisphenol A (BPA) in trace quantity. The preparation was achieved under mild condition, and the material was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), elemental analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and scanning electron microscopy. BA-ATP was used in solid phase extraction (SPE), and SPE was performed in a neutral condition without regard to ionic strength. The results indicate that BA-ATP has high affinity to BPA with a maximum adsorption amount of 44 mg g−1, and the adsorption can be described by Langmuir isotherm model. The content of bisphenol A in water samples was analyzed by HPLC method with the pre-concentration using BA-ATP. The limit of detection (LOD) can be as low as 3.9 ng mL−1, and the average recoveries are in a range of 93–97% with relative standard deviation (RSD) of less than 2%.

Graphical abstractPreparation of 4-butylaniline-modified attapulgite (BA-ATP) by ring-opening reaction and synchronous hydrolysis is achieved and the material is used for pre-concentration of trace BPA in water sample.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide