Ionic Liquid—Solidified Floating Organic Drop Microextraction for the Preconcentration of Lead in Environmental Water Samples Prior to Its Determination with Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

This research investigates the utilization of an ionic liquid combination of solidified floating organic drop micro-extraction (IL-SFODME) to augment the concentration of trace amounts of lead, working as a preliminary stage before electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) analysis without the use of chelating agents. Key parameters impacting the microextraction efficiency—including pH, the volume of the ionic liquid (1-Hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, HMIMPF6), temperature, extraction time, and stirring speed—were methodically examined to determine optimal conditions. Under detected optimized conditions, an enhancement factor of 71.2 was obtained for a 15 mL sample solution. The calibration curve exhibited linearity within the concentration range of 0.2–2.5 µg/L, with a detection limit (3σ) of 0.054 µg/L and a quantification limit (10σ) of 0.18 µg/L. For seven replicate measurements of 0.5 µg/L lead, the relative standard deviation (RSD) was ±2.30%. This method was effectively implemented to extract and quantify lead in both reference water and different real water samples, showcasing significantly efficient extraction performance.