Journal of Hazardous Materials 169 (2009) 593–598 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Hazardous Materials journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhazmat Synthesis of a novel chelating resin and its use for selective separation and preconcentration of some trace metals in water samples S ¸ erife Tokalıo˘ glu a,∗ , Vedat Yılmaz b ,S ¸ enol Kartal a , Ali Delibas ¸ c , Cengiz Soykan c a Erciyes University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Chemistry Department, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey b Erciyes University, Pharmacy Faculty, Analytical Chemistry Department, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey c Bozok University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Chemistry Department, 66200 Yozgat, Turkey article info Article history: Received 31 October 2008 Received in revised form 27 March 2009 Accepted 31 March 2009 Available online 7 April 2009 Keywords: Synthesis Chelating resin Solid phase extraction FAAS abstract A new chelating resin, poly[N-(4-bromophenyl)-2-methacrylamide-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1- propanesulfonic acid-co-divinylbenzene], was synthesized and characterized. The resin was used for selective separation, preconcentration and determination of Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Mn(II) and Fe(III) ions in water samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Effects of pH, concentration and volume of elution solution, sample flow rate, sample volume and interfering ions (Na + ,K + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Fe 3+ , Mn 2+ , Al 3+ , Zn 2+ , Pb 2+ , Cu 2+ , Ni 2+ , Cd 2+ , Cl - and SO 4 2- ) on the recovery of the analytes were investigated. The sorption capacity of the resin was 25.6, 19.8, 32.1, 41.3, 38.9, 13.9 and 18.3mgg -1 for Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Mn(II) and Fe(III), respectively. A high preconcentration factor, 100, and low relative standard deviation, ≤2.5% (n = 7) values were obtained. The detection limits (gL -1 ) were 0.57 for Cu(II), 0.37 for Ni(II), 0.24 for Co(II), 0.09 for Cd(II), 1.6 for Pb(II), 0.19 for Mn(II) and 0.72 for Fe(III). The method was validated by analysing fortified lake water (TMDA-54.4, a trace element fortified calibration standard) and spiked water samples. The method was applied to the determination of the analytes in tap and lake water samples. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction As the number of ecological and health problems associated with environmental contamination continues to rise, the determi- nation of heavy metal ion at trace level in environmental samples is becoming great importance [1]. Cr(III) is considered to be an essen- tial trace element for the maintenance of effective glucose, lipid and protein metabolism in mammals. On the other hand, Cd(II) and Pb(II) even at very low concentrations, are well-known toxic elements. Both metals cause adverse health effects in humans and their widespread presence in the human environment comes from anthropogenic activities [2,3]. Copper is both micro-nutrient as well as toxic element for living beings, depending upon the concentra- tion level. Its deficiency causes the ischemic heart disease, anemia, abnormal wool growth and bone disorders. Severe oral intoxica- tions affect mainly blood and kidneys. Excess of copper enters through into the body as a pollutant present in water, food con- tamination and some other plant foods rich in copper. Nickel is a moderately toxic element. The most common harmful health effect of nickel in humans is an allergic reaction [4,5]. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 352 437 49 37; fax: +90 352 437 49 33. E-mail address: serifet@erciyes.edu.tr (S ¸ . Tokalıo˘ glu). The toxicity of cobalt is low and its considered as an essential element, which is required in the normal human diet in the form of vitamin B 12 (cyanocobalamin). For this reason, Co has been used in the treatment of anemia. Iron is an essential element for all forms of life, i.e. it is a cofactor in many enzymes and essential for oxy- gen transport and electron transfer. It is potentially toxic in excess concentration because of its pro-oxidant activity. Manganese is a necessity for the proper function of several enzymes and an essen- tial micro-nutrient for the function of the brain, nervous system and normal bone growth. It optimizes enzyme and membrane transport functions [6–8]. The direct determination of trace metals in various samples may not be possible with sufficient sensitivity by also using expensive analytical methods, such as inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry or electrothermal atomic absorp- tion spectrometry because of low concentrations and/or matrix interferences. The most effective way to avoid these problems is to perform appropriate sample pretreatment prior to analysis aimed at lowering the limits of detection, by both removal of interferences and increasing the concentration of the species of interest. There- fore, a separation/preconcentration technique is necessary, prior to determination of trace metals by an instrumental technique [9,10]. The widely used techniques for the separation and preconcentra- tion of trace metals include coprecipitation [3,11], liquid–liquid 0304-3894/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.03.146