Synthesis and characterization of cube-like Mn2O3 nanoparticle and its analytical application for the preconcentration of cobalt from basil tea samples before FAAS quantitation

Abstract

An analytical method for the extraction and detection of cobalt at trace levels in basil tea samples is described. Dispersive solid phase extraction (DSPE) was used prior to flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) system in order to quantify cobalt at trace levels. Manganese trioxide (Mn2O3) nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal process and used as an adsorbent in the DSPE method. Characterization of the synthesized cube-like Mn2O3 nanoparticles were carried out to investigate their morphological features and chemical composition. In addition, the pH value at the point of zero charge (pHPZC) of the synthesized nanoparticles was determined to be 6.4 using a solid-addition approach. The impact of DSPE parameters was examined by univariate optimization approach supported with Tukey's post hoc test. Under the optimum DSPE-FAAS conditions, the developed method showed wide dynamic range (10.11-262.07 mu g/kg), a low limit of detection (5.47 mu g/kg) and a low limit of quantitation (18.24 mu g/kg). The accuracy of the DSPE-FAAS method was confirmed by analysis of the spiked basil tea samples. Proposed method exhibited good accuracy and applicability to basil tea samples due to the acceptable percent recovery results in the range of 96.7 %-118.8 %.