Recent advances of adsorbents in solid phase extraction for environmental samples

In recent years, some new and sensitive analytical instruments have been invented or existing instruments have been improved, which have resulted in many advanced achievements. However, sample pre-treatment techniques still play important and irreplaceable roles in the analysis of pollutants. Among the developed sample pre-treatment techniques, solid phase extraction is the most often used method and has been widely applied worldwide. In solid phase extraction, adsorbent is the key part to achieve high sensitivity and enrichment efficiency, which is the hot topic in analytical and environmental fields in recent years. In order to deeply understand the prospect of solid phase extraction, this review summarises the recent advances of adsorbents including ion imprinting materials, magnetic materials, core-shell materials, mesoporous materials, carbon nanotubes, TiO₂ nanotube arrays and some other new materials.