Trace Metal Enrichment Using Gold Nanoparticle Loaded on Activated Carbon Modified with 1-((6-(-(2,4-dihydroxybenzylideneamino))hexylimino) Methyl)benzene-2, 4-diol

In this study, a new sorbent based on the modification of gold nanoparticle loaded on activated carbon (Au-NP-AC) with 1-((6-(-(2,4-dihydroxybenzylideneamino))hexylimino) methyl)benzene-2, 4-diol (DHBAHMB) was synthesis and its efficient application for trace metal enrichment was examined. The proposed sorbent (Au-NP-AC-DHBAHMB) has been applied for enrichment and preconcentration of trace amount of Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ and Zn²⁺ ions in real samples. The metal ions retained on proposed sorbent via chelation with the DHBAHMB efficiency was eluted by HNO3 and detected by FAAS. The effect of analytical parameters including pH, amount of ligand and solid phase and the conditions (type, concentration and volume of eluent) of the eluent were optimized. Following optimization of variables, preconcentration factors of 165, 170 and 180 for Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ and Zn²⁺ metal ions, respectively, with detection limits of 1.4-2.6 ng mL^-1. The method has been applied for the extraction and determination of the ion content in same real sample with recoveries in range of 95-99.6 % and a relative standard deviation of (RSD lower than 4.0 %).