Hydrophobically Functionalized Magnetic Nanocomposite as a New Adsorbent for Preconcentration of Organochlorine Pesticides in Water Solution

Magnetite (Fe
₃
O
₄
) nanoparticles modified with a nonionic surfactant, Triton X-100, have been applied for magnetic solid-phase extraction of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from a water medium. The magnetic core-shell nanoparticles decorated with layers of silica and Triton X-100 have been prepared through a step-by-step technique. The synthesized materials were thoroughly characterized using transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction analysis, nitrogen physisorption, elemental analysis, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The synthesized solids were tested for the preconcentration of OCPs present in water for their subsequent analysis by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The proposed method has demonstrated a good linearity (R
²
> 0.9915) in the range of 1-10 000 ng·kg
^-1
, with a relative standard deviation of less than 11.7%. The preconcentration factors obtained under the optimal conditions were in the range of 2362-10593 for 100 mL of sample solution.