Synthesis of magnetically modified mesoporous nanoparticles and their application in simultaneous determination of Pb(II), Cd(II) and Cu(II)

In this study, a novel adsorbent from a mesoporous family (MCM-41) coating with CoFe2O4 and piperazine was synthesized by a simple and easy route. Its application for simultaneous preconcentration of three heavy metals including lead, cadmium and copper in real samples followed by a flame atomic absorption spectroscopy was investigated. The central composite design was employed for investigating the most effective factors of pH, amount of adsorbent, the equilibrium time and their interactions. Under the optimum conditions, the detection limits for lead, cadmium and copper were 0.50, 0.30 and 0.25 μg L−1, respectively, and the preconcentration factor (PF) was 33. The presented method was successfully employed for the simultaneous determination of the three mentioned heavy metals in real samples with recoveries of 90%–105%. The accuracy of the suggested methods was also investigated through spiking samples and a reasonable range for recoveries from 90.3% to 107% was acquired. The isotherm models and thermodynamic parameters have also been studied. The new adsorbent showed fast adsorption kinetics within 10 min and maximum Langmuir monolayer capacities of 238.09, 178.57 and 208.33 mg g−1 for lead, cadmium and copper, respectively.