Magnetic tetraethylenepentamine modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes as matrix clean-up materials for organophosphorus pesticide residues analysis in cucumber

In order to better remove the interfering substances in the vegetables, a type of tetraethylenepentamine modified multi-wall carbon nanotubes has been prepared. As-prepared materials contain amino-groups and organic chains, and magnetism is endowed by using physical blending method. Taking the magnetic tetraethylenepentamine modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes as matrix clean-up agents and combining with GC-MS, a modified QuEChERS method was established for the pesticide residues analysis in cucumber. The recoveries of 10 pesticide targets were 73.5%–114.2%, and the RSDs were between 4.9% and 18.6%, which could meet the requirements of food safety testing. Compared with the traditional clean-up materials, the prepared materials exhibited better clean-up performance while simplifying the pretreatment process. Given the excellent clean-up performance of the proposed materials, it was expected to be used in the clean-up process of other samples with complex contents.