Gas-Phase Postderivatization Following Solid-Phase Microextraction for Determining Acidic Herbicides in Water

This study analyzes acidic herbicides from an aqueous sample by developing a methylated postderivatization on the fiber following solid-phase microextration (SPME) with diazomethane gas procedure combined with GC/MS. Analysis results indicate that a silica fiber coated with polyacrylate (PA) yields a higher extraction efficiency than that obtained with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) using the SPME technique. Detection limits are achieved at the level of 10−30 ng/L. Linearity is obtained over a wide range, with precision below 12% RSD. In addition, the significant reduction in extraction efficiency is attributed to the concentration of humic acids exceeding 5 mg/L. Various degradation compounds of acidic herbicides in basic solution are also detected, including 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, 4-chloro-3-methylphenol, pentachlorinated biphenyl, and tetrachlorinated biphenyl. Moreover, the amount of pentachlorinated biphenyl and tetrachlorinated biphenyl increases over time.