Dipyridylamine-modified nanoporous silicas as new sorbents for the separation and pre-concentration of palladium

Nanoporous silicas of the type SBA-15 (Santa Barbara Amorphous) and MCM-48 (Mobile Composition of Material) were modified with dipyridylamine (dipy) and used as solid phases for the extraction of Pd(II) ions. The experimental conditions (pH, sample and eluent flow rates, type and quantity of eluent) were optimized. The recovery values were ~ 99.7 and ~ 93.4% for dipy-MCM-48 and dipy-SBA-15, respectively, the limits of detection were 78 mg g−1. The procedure was applied to the preconcentration of Pd(II) in real samples.