Abstract

Despite remarkable advances in modern state-of-the-art analytical instruments featured with enhanced sensitivity and automated operation in recent years, the success of an analytical investigation still largely depends on the sampling and sample preparation techniques. The growing concerns about environmental pollution and public safety, solvent-free/solvent-minimized sorptive microextraction techniques have gained enormous popularity among practicing scientists over solvent intensive sample preparation techniques. A major share of the increasing popularity of sorptive microextraction techniques definitely goes to sol-gel coating technology. The enormous potential of sol-gel coating technology as a viable approach for creating hybrid organic-inorganic advanced material systems has been intuitively materialized, resulting in a large number of microextraction sorbents possessing unique selectivity, enhanced extraction efficiency, higher thermal, mechanical, chemical and solvent stability. The current chapter explains the basic principle of sol-gel coating technology as well as the step-by-step procedure to fabricate the coating, classifies and describes different sorptive microextraction sorbents, and presents the most recent developments in the field. Selected and representative applications of different sol-gel microextraction sorbents are also tabulated.