Modified 3D-printed device for mercury determination in waters

Anal Chim Acta. 2019 Nov 15:1082:78-85. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2019.06.062. Epub 2019 Jul 4.

Abstract

3D printing technology is increasingly used in flow analysis, to develop low cost and tailor-made devices. The possibility of grafting specific molecules onto 3D printed parts offers new perspectives for the development of flow systems. In this study, a MPFS system including a dicarboxylate 1,5-diphenyl-3-thiocarbazone grafted 3D-printed device has been developed for mercury determination. For this purpose, the surface of 3D-printed cuboids was first modified with amine functional groups and then grafted with dicarboxylate 1,5-diphenyl-3-thiocarbazone. This new grafted device resulted in selective mercury preconcentration with extraction and elution yields higher than 90% even at high sampling flow rates. The detection can then be carried out in two ways: a direct detection of mercury extracted onto 3D-printed grafted cuboids by atomic absorption spectrophotometry after amalgam on gold or a detection of mercury in solution after elution with l-cysteine by spectrophotometry or cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry.

Keywords: Dicarboxylate 1,5-diphenyl-3-thiocarbazone; Mercury; Multi pumping flow system; Poly(methylmethacrylate) grafting; Stereolithography.