In-situ functionalization of MnO2 nanoparticles by natural tea polyphenols: A greener sorbent for dispersive solid-phase extraction of parabens from wastewater and cosmetics

[Display omitted] •MnO2 nanoparticles coated by in-situ polymerization of green tea polyphenols.•The synthesized procedure is fast, economic and environmentally friendly.•Methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl parabens extracted using a biocompatible sorbent.•Experimental design used to optimization of DSPE variables. In the present research, the surface modification of MnO2 nanoparticles was done through the in-situ polymerization of green tea polyphenols in the presence of lysine and formaldehyde. The new composite (MnO2@tea polyphenols) is used as an efficient sorbent in dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) of methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl parabens followed by HPLC-UV. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), field emission scanning electronic microscope (FE-SEM), nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis, energy-dispersive spectra (EDS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and zeta potential were used to characterize the prepared sorbent. After optimization using response surface methodology, the linearity and limits of detection were in the range of 0.1–500 μg/L and 0.08–0.3 μg/L, respectively. Acceptable relative recoveries of more than 91.6% with RSDs of less than 5.1% were achieved for spiking wastewater and cosmetic samples.