Silver-coated monolitic silica column for separation of benzo[a]pyrene from petroleum

Department of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Vilnius University, 24 Naugarduko Street, 03225 Vilnius, Lithuania Monolithic silica solid-phase extraction column has been successfully applied for the rapid fractionation and subsequent gas chromatographic analysis of benzo[a]pyrene from the diesel and oil matrix. Due to π-π electronic interactions between silver nanoparticles on the sorbent surface and aromatic analyte specific retention was achieved. It was demonstrated that only 0.2 g of the sorbent and 6 ml of the organic solvent are enough for such separation.