Synthesis and application of multi-walled carbon nanotubes-molecularly imprinted sol-gel composite material for on-line solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography determination of trace Sudan IV

A novel composite material of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)-Sudan IV molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) was prepared by surface molecular imprinting technique in combination with sol-gel technology. The MWNTs-MIPs were evaluated by scanning electron micrograph (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and adsorption experiments. The results showed that the MWNTs-MIPs exhibited good selective recognition to Sudan IV. The maximum saturated binding capacity (Q_max) is 63.2 μmol g⁻¹. Applied as sorbent, the MWNTs-MIPs were used for the determination of trace Sudan IV in chilli powder by on-line solid-phase extraction-high-performance liquid chromatography (SPE-HPLC). The results showed that an enrichment factor of 741 was achieved with a loading flow rate of 1.0 mL min⁻¹ for sampling 50 mL. The MWNTs-MIPs provided a fast and convenience determination platform for Sudan IV in real samples.