Synthesis and evaluation of silver nanoparticles material for solid phase extraction of cobalt from water samples

In this study, a new solid phase extractor, nano-scale silver particles were synthesized. The silver nanoparticle-based solid phase extraction was used for separation and preconcentration of the trace amount of cobalt ion from various water samples prior to its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The effects of various parameters, including pH, amount of complexing agent [1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol] (PAN), flow rates of solution and eluent, type and least amount of the eluent for elution of the cobalt from silver nanoparticles were studied and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the detection limit of this procedure was 0.78 μg L−1, and the relative standard deviation (RSD%) was 3.1% (n = 10, c = 20 μg L−1). This method was applied to the determination of cobalt in water samples. © 2011, The Author(s).