Stainless steel fiber coated with poly(1-hexyl-3-vinylimidazolium) bromide for solid-phase microextraction of polychlorinated biphenyls from water samples prior to their quantitation by GC

A stainless steel wire coated with a polymeric ionic liquid (poly-IL) is shown to represent a viable new tool for solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The surface of the wire was covalently modified with 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate, and susequent free-radical initiated polymerization of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-hexyl-3-vinylimidazolium bromide on the surface of the wire produced a poly-IL possessing sheet-like structure. The poly-IL fiber was evaluated with respect to its capability for extracting PCBs from water samples. The fiber aging temperature, extraction time, extraction temperature and ionic strength of the water sample were optimized. The poly-IL SPME fiber was applied to the headspace extraction of 12 kinds of PCBs (from PCB 81 to PCB 189) which, after direct injection into the port, were quantified by GC with ECD detection. The method displays good linearity in the 10 to 200 ng L−1 PCB concentration range, and limits of detection between 0.9 and 5.8 ng L−1. The single fiber and fiber-to-fiber repeatabilities are