A novel and simple method is presented for the preconcentration and determination of mercury (Hg) from natural waters through its extraction into a polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) containing the task-specific ionic liquid trioctylmethylammonium thiosalicylate (TOMATS) followed by Energy Dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis. The determination was made directly on the membrane without any treatment or elution step, and due to the characteristics of the PIM no matrix or thickness corrections were required in EDXRF analysis. Under the best extracting and EDXRF operating conditions, a Hg limit of detection of 0.2 μg Hg L^–1 was obtained. Moreover, no water matrix effect was observed when Hg was extracted from different types of water such as river, seawater, groundwater, and tap water, showing this extraction system as a global solution when dealing with natural waters. Interestingly, this Hg collected in the PIM has shown to be stable for at least 6 months without the use of any preservative. This fact is of prime importance taking into account the usual stability problems of Hg during sample storage.

中文翻译：

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聚合物包裹膜是一种有效的吸收剂，可促进天然水中汞的存储和X射线荧光检测

提出了一种新颖，简单的方法，用于通过从天然水中的汞（Hg）萃取至包含任务专用离子液体三辛基甲基硫代水杨酸酯（TOMATS）的聚合物包含膜（PIM），然后进行能量色散X射线分析来对富集和测定汞（Hg）的方法。荧光（EDXRF）分析。无需任何处理或洗脱步骤即可直接在膜上进行测定，由于PIM的特性，EDXRF分析无需基质或厚度校正。在最佳萃取和EDXRF操作条件下，汞的检出限为0.2μgHg L ^–1获得了。此外，从河流，海水，地下水和自来水等不同类型的水中提取汞时，未观察到水基质效应，这表明该提取系统是处理天然水时的整体解决方案。有趣的是，在PIM中收集的这种汞已证明在不使用任何防腐剂的情况下可稳定至少6个月。考虑到样品存储过程中常见的汞稳定性问题，这一事实至关重要。