This work reports the preparation of a novel Cu(II)-ion imprinted polymer using 2-thiozylmethacrylamide (TMA) for on-line preconcentration of Cu(II) prior to its determination by inductively coupled optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Cu(II)-TMA monomer (complex) was synthesized and copolymerized via bulk polymerization method in the presence of ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate cross-linker. The resulting polymer was washed with 5% (v/v) HNO3 to remove Cu(II) ions and then with water until a neutral pH. The ion imprinted polymer was characterized by FT-IR and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental conditions were optimized for on-line preconcentration of Cu(II) using a minicolumn of ion imprinted polymer (IIP). Quantitative retention was achieved between pH 5.0 and 6.0, whereas the recoveries for the non-imprinted polymer (NIP) were about 61%. The IIP showed about 30 times higher selectivity to Cu(II) in comparison to NIP. The IIP also exhibited excellent selectivity for Cu(II) against the competing transition and heavy metal ions, including Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. Computational calculations revealed that the selectivity of IIP was mediated by the stability of Cu(II)-TMA complex which was far more stable than those of Co(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) that have similar charge and ionic radii to Cu(II). A volume of 10 mL sample solution was loaded onto the column at 4.0 mL min−1 by using a sequential injection system (FIALab 3200) followed by elution with 1.0 mL of 2% (v/v) HNO3. The relative standard deviation (RSD) and limit of detection (LOD, 3s) of the method were 3.2% and 0.4 μg L−1, respectively. The method was successfully applied to determination of Cu(II) in fish otoliths (CRM 22), bone ash (SRM 1400) and coastal seawater and estuarine water samples.

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The knowledge of physico-chemical properties of carbon nanotubes, including behavior in organic solvents is very important for design, manufacturing and utilizing of their counterparts with improved properties. In the present study a quantitative structure-activity/property relationship (QSAR/QSPR) approach was applied to predict the dispersibility of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in various organic solvents. A number of additive descriptors and quantum-chemical descriptors were calculated and utilized to build QSAR models. The best predictability is shown by a 4-variable model. The model showed statistically good results (R2training = 0.797, Q2 = 0.665, R2test = 0.807), with high internal and external correlation coefficients. Presence of the X0Av descriptor and its negative term suggest that small size solvents have better SWCNTs solubility. Mass weighted descriptor ATS6m also indicates that heavier solvents (and small in size) most probably are better solvents for SWCNTs. The presence of the Dipole Z descriptor indicates that higher polarizability of the solvent molecule increases the solubility. The developed model and contributed descriptors can help to understand the mechanism of the dispersion process and predictorganic solvents that improve the dispersibility of SWNTs.