An ultrastable tetraazacalix[2]arene[2]triazine functionalized MXene for highly selective and sensitive determination of p-Phenylenediamines and their quinone derivatives in environmental water via HPLC-MS/MS

p -Phenylenediamine antioxidants (PPDs) and their quinone derivatives (PPDQs) have emerged as concerning environmental contaminants due to their widespread presence and biological toxicity. Herein, a novel tetraazacalix[2]arene[2]triazine functionalized 2D transition metal carbide (TCT@MXene) with electron-rich and electron-deficient sites, porous structures, abundant adsorption sites was first synthesized and characterized. Combining the advantages of extraordinary adsorption capacities and rates towards PPDs and PPDQs, a dispersive solid-phase extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) strategy was developed for highly sensitive and selective determination of PPDs and PPDQs in environmental water. The method featured acceptable linearity (R 2  ≥ 0.999), high sensitivity (LOD ranged from 0.10 to 2.96 ng L −1 ), and qualified precision (RSD ≤ 5.90 %). Compared with published works, the LODs of the developed technique were improved 3.8–250 times. Furthermore, its exceptional thermal and chemical stability allows for at least 10 reuse cycles under varying pH conditions. The adsorption mechanism revealed that the complementary charge distribution and robust conjugated system of TCT@MXene enabled the simultaneous and efficient co-adsorption of both PPDs and PPDQs. Besides, the established method was successfully applied to the analysis of trace targets in Yellow River basin in Henan Province. All these results proved the promising application of the developed method for organic pollutants analysis in water samples.