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Hybrid materials based on polystyrene (PS) and green metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) were synthesized, characterized, and evaluated as potential sorbents in dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction (µ-dSPE). Among the resulting materials, the hybrid PS/DUT-67(Zr) was selected as the adequate extraction material for the monitoring of six personal care products in micellar cosmetic samples, combining the µ-dSPE method with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled to ultraviolet/visible detection (UV/Vis). Univariate studies and a factorial design were performed in the optimization of the microextraction procedure. The compromise optimum extraction conditions included 20 mg of PS/DUT-67(Zr) for 10 mL of sample, 2 min of extraction time, and two desorption steps using 100 µL of acetonitrile and 5 min assisted by vortex in each one. The validated μ-dSPE-UHPLC-UV/Vis method presented limits of detection and quantification down to 3.00 and 10.0 μg·L -1 , respectively. The inter-day precision values were lower than 23.5 and 21.2% for concentration levels of 75 μg·L -1 and 650 μg·L -1 , respectively. The hydrophobicity of the resulting PS/DUT-67(Zr) material was crucial for the improvement of its extraction capacity in comparison with its unitary components, showing the advantages of combining MOFs with other materials, getting new sorbents with interesting properties.

The mixed-ligand strategy was selected as an approach to tailor a metal-organic framework (MOF) with microextraction purposes. The strategy led to the synthesis of up to twelve UiO-66-based MOFs with different amounts of functionalized terephthalate ligands (H-bdc), including nitro (-NO 2 ) and amino (-NH 2 ) groups (NO 2 -bdc and NH 2 -bdc, respectively). Increases of 25% in ligands were used in each case, and different pore environments were thus obtained in the resulting crystals. Characterization of MOFs includes powder X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The obtained MOFs with different degrees and natures of functionalization were tested as sorbents in a dispersive miniaturized solid-phase extraction (D-µSPE) method in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and diode array detection (DAD), to evaluate the influence of mixed functionalization of the MOF on the analytical performance of the entire microextraction method. Eight organic pollutants of different natures were studied, using a concentration level of 5 µg· L -1 to mimic contaminated waters. Target pollutants included carbamazepine, 4-cumylphenol, benzophenone-3, 4-tert-octylphenol, 4-octylphenol, chrysene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, and triclosan, as representatives of drugs, phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and disinfectants. Structurally, they differ in size and some of them present polar groups able to form H-bond interactions, either as donors (-NH 2 ) or acceptors (-NO 2 ), permitting us to evaluate possible interactions between MOF pore functionalities and analytes' groups. As a result, extraction efficiencies can reach values of up to 60%, despite employing a microextraction approach, with four main trends of behavior being observed, depending on the analyte and the MOF.

The pillared-layer Zn-triazolate metal-organic framework (CIM-81) was synthesized, characterized, and used for the first time as a sorbent in a dispersive micro-solid phase extraction method. The method involves the determination of a variety of personal care products in wastewaters, including four preservatives, four UV-filters, and one disinfectant, in combination with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and UV detection. The CIM-81 MOF, constructed with an interesting mixed-ligand synthetic strategy, demonstrated a better extraction performance than other widely used MOFs in D-µSPE such as UiO-66, HKUST-1, and MIL-53(Al). The optimization of the method included a screening design followed by a Doehlert design. Optimum conditions required 10 mg of CIM-81 MOF in 10 mL of the aqueous sample at a pH of 5, 1 min of agitation by vortex and 3 min of centrifugation in the extraction step; and 1.2 mL of methanol and 4 min of vortex in the desorption step, followed by filtration, evaporation and reconstitution with 100 µL of the initial chromatographic mobile phase. The entire D-µSPE-UHPLC-UV method presented limits of detection down to 0.5 ng·mL -1 ; intra-day and inter-day precision values for the lowest concentration level (15 ng·mL -1 )-as a relative standard deviation (in %)-lower than 8.7 and 13%, respectively; average relative recovery values of 115%; and enrichment factors ranging from ~3.6 to ~34. The reuse of the CIM-81 material was assessed not only in terms of maintaining the analytical performance but also in terms of its crystalline stability.

Four metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), specifically UiO-66, UiO-66-NH₂, UiO-66-NO₂, and MIL-53(Al), were synthesized, characterized, and used as sorbents in a dispersive micro-solid phase extraction (D-µSPE) method for the determination of nine pollutants of different nature, including drugs, phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and personal care products in environmental waters. The D-µSPE method, using these MOFs as sorbents and in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and diode-array detection (DAD), was optimized. The optimization study pointed out to UiO-66-NO₂ as the best MOF to use in the multi-component determination. Furthermore, the utilization of isoreticular MOFs based on UiO-66 with the same topology but different functional groups, and MIL-53(Al) to compare with, allowed us for the first time to evaluate the influence of such functionalization of the ligand with regards to the efficiency of the D-µSPE-HPLC-DAD method. Optimum conditions included: 20 mg of UiO-66-NO₂ MOF in 20 mL of the aqueous sample, 3 min of agitation by vortex and 5 min of centrifugation, followed by the use of only 500 µL of acetonitrile as desorption solvent (once the MOF containing analytes was separated), 5 min of vortex and 5 min of centrifugation. The validation of the D-µSPE-HPLC-DAD method showed limits of detection down to 1.5 ng·L -1 , average relative recoveries of 107% for a spiked level of 1.50 µg·L -1 , and inter-day precision values with relative standard deviations lower than 14%, for the group of pollutants considered.