Sorption behavior of charged and neutral polar organic compounds on solid phase extraction materials: which functional group governs sorption?

Numerous polar anthropogenic organic chemicals have been found in the aqueous environment. Solid phase extraction (SPE) has been applied for the isolation of these from aqueous matrices, employing various materials. Nevertheless, little is known about the influence of functional groups on the sorption of the solutes onto these materials. Therefore, the sorption interactions of (charged) polar organic solutes to neutral (HLB), cation-exchanging (MCX, WCX), and anion-exchanging (MAX, WAX) OASIS polymers have been studied. For neutral solutes HLB has the highest capacity and affinity. Van der Waals interaction, rather than hydrogen bonding, appears to be the predominant factor determining sorption. For charged molecules, MCX and MAX show by far the highest affinity and capacity. Adsorption is already efficient at low concentrations and the maximum sorption capacity equals the amount of charged functional groups on the material. The results from this study allow semiquantitative predictions if a solute will adsorb on one of the OASIS materials and which functional groups govern adsorption.