A novel sorbent for simultaneous separation of cadmium and copper was prepared by functionalizing
SBA-15 nanoporous silica with diphenylcarbazide. A solid-phase extraction method using the above sorbent
has been developed to separate and concentrate trace amount of cadmium and copper ions from
environmental samples by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry measurements. The optimum
experimental conditions such as pH, flow rates, type and the smallest amount of eluent for elution of
cadmium and copper ions, break through volume and effect of coexisting ions on the separation and determination
of cadmium and copper ions were evaluated. The extraction efficiency for cadmium and copper
ions were greater than 98% and limit of detection (LOD) was 0.15 and 0.45 ng mL−1 for cadmium and copper,
respectively. The preconcentration factor was 294 and 291 for cadmium and copper, respectively,
and the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the method was