Microextraction procedures for the separation of Pb(II) from water and food samples extracts were developed. A deep eutectic solvent composed of α-benzoin oxime and iron(III) chloride dissolved in phenol was applied as a phase separator support. In addition, this deep eutectic mixture worked as an efficient extractor of Pb(II). The developed microextraction process showed a high ability to tolerate the common coexisting ions in the real samples. The optimum conditions for quantitative recoveries of Pb(II) from aqueous extracts were at pH 2.0, conducted by adding 150 µL from the deep eutectic solvent. The quantitative recoveries were obtained with various initial sample volumes up to 30 mL. Limits of detection and limits of quantification of 0.008 and 0.025 µg L-1 were achieved with a relative standard deviation (RSD%) of 2.9, which indicates the accuracy and sensitivity of the developed procedure. Recoveries from the reference materials, including TMDA 64.2, TMDA 53.3, and NCSDC-73349, were 100%, 97%, and 102%, respectively. Real samples, such as tap, lake, and river water, as well as food samples, including salted peanuts, chickpeas, roasted yellow corn, pistachios, and almonds, were successfully applied for Pb(II) analysis by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) after applying the developed deep eutectic solvent-based microextraction procedures.
Keywords: atomic absorption spectroscopy; deep eutectic solvent; lead(II); microextraction; water.