Imidazolium ionic-liquid-modified phenolic resin for solid-phase extraction of thidiazuron and forchlorfenuron from cucumbers.

An imidazolium ionic-liquid-modified phenolic resin (ILPR) was synthesized using 3-aminophenol as a functional monomer, glyoxylic acid as a green cross-linker, and polyethylene glycol 6000 as a porogen. The obtained ILPR showed better extraction of benzoylurea plant hormones thidiazuron and forchlorfenuron than the unmodified phenolic resin because the imidazolium IL provides more interaction modes with the analytes. ILPR, as a tailored adsorbent for solid-phase extraction, was coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (ILPR‒SPE‒HPLC) for the simultaneous determination of thidiazuron and forchlorfenuron in cucumbers. Good linearity of the ILPR‒SPE‒HPLC method was obtained, ranging from 0.0100 to 5.00 μg g-1 with a correlation coefficient (r) ≥ 0.9999. The recoveries of spiked samples ranged from 91.4% to 100.7% with a relative standard deviation of ≤ 6.0%.