Synthesis and application of polythiophene-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles for preconcentration of ultra-trace levels of cadmium in different real samples followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

In this research, magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesised by co-precipitation method and modified with polythiophene (PT) to produce Fe₃O₄-PT nanoparticles for preconcentration and determination of cadmium (??) ion followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The results of FT-IR spectroscopy, EDX analysis and SEM images show that Fe₃O₄-PT nanoparticles were synthesised successfully. Different parameters such as sample pH, amounts of adsorbent, sample volume, extraction time, type and concentration of eluent and desorption time were completely investigated and optimum conditions were selected.

Under the optimum conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.01–0.25 µg L^?1 of cadmium (??). The relative standard deviation was 4.7% (n = 7, 0.10 µg L^?1 Cd²⁺) and limit of detection was 3.30 ng L^?1. The accuracy of the proposed method was verified by the analysis of a certified reference material and spike method. Finally, the proposed method was applied for the determination of ultra-trace levels of cadmium (??) in different water and food samples.