LAUSR

In this study, an acid-treated-activated carbon was prepared from chestnut oak shell carbonization followed by modification with hydrochloric acid /nitric acid (HCl/HNO3 ) and then used as a new sorbent for headspace needle-trap extraction of chlorophenol compounds from aqueous solutions. Different techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis, and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy were used for the characterization of the sorbents. The effects of some experimental parameters, including the temperature, pH, sorbent amount, and time of extraction were optimized. The developed method is fast and sensitive, providing low and sub ng L-1 detection limits. The limits of detection and quantification were in the range 0.75-5 and 5-15 ng mL-1 , respectively and the equilibrium time was 20 min. Wide linearity in the range 15-2000 ng L-1 with R2 > 0.9993 was obtained. Repeatability of the method was accessed at 50, 100, and 200 ng L-1 concentration levels and RSD% of 5-12% was achieved. The introduced method was applied for analyzing real water samples containing spiked chlorophenols, and the relative recovery values were found to be in the range of 84-99% at the concentration levels of 50, 100 and 200 ng L-1 . This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.