Preparation, characterization, and applications of a novel solid-phase microextraction fiber by sol-gel technology on the surface of stainless steel wire for determination of poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aquatic environmental samples

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • A novel solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was prepared using sol–gel technology. • Sol–gel coating was performed on stainless steel substrate. • The new fibers are robust and unbreakable with temperature stability. • The fibers were used for extraction of PAHs from aqueous samples. - Abstract: A novel solid-phase microextraction(SPME) fiber was prepared using sol–gel technology with ethoxylated nonylphenol as a fiber coating material. The fiber was employed to develop a headspace SPME–GC–MS method suitable for quantification of 13 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water samples. Surface characteristics of the fibers were inspected by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy as well as by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM measurements showed the presence of highly porous nano-sized particles in the coating. Important parameters affecting the extraction efficiency such as extraction temperature and time, desorption conditions as well as ionic strength have been evaluated and optimized. In the next step, the validation of the new method have been performed, finding it to be specific in the trace analysis of PAHs, with the limit of detection (LOD) ranging from 0.01 to 0.5 μg L−1 and the linear range from the respective LOD to 200 μg L−1with RSD amounting to less than 8%. The thermal stability of the fibers was investigated as well and they were found to be durable at 280 °C for 345 min. Furthermore, the proposed method was successfully applied for quantification of PAHs in real water samples