Abstract: Headspace solid-phase microextraction(HS-SPME) with sol-gel calix[6]arene-containing fiber followed by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector was used to examine the composition and distribution of seven polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) in water. The novel SPME fiber exhibited higher extraction efficiency to PAHs compared with poly(dimethylsiloxane) and other calixarene-containing fibers. Extraction/retention mechanism based on the interactions between calixarenes and PAHs was discussed. Owing to the good selectivity and high extraction capability of this calixarene fiber, low detection limits were obtained in a range of 0.34―6.50 ng/L and the relative standard deviation values were ≤12.3% for all of the analytes. The linear ranges of the proposed method were five orders of magnitude for the tested compounds, with linear correlation coefficients(r) greater than 0.998. The method was applied to the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in nine water sources in Wuhan City, China. Standard addition method was selected for the quantification and the recovery values were in a satisfactory range. Total PAHs concentrations in the nine surface water samples were found to vary between undetectable and 8.840 μg/L with two- and three-ring PAHs predominating.

Key words: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, Solid-phase microextraction, Calixarene, Gas chromatography, Water