Impact of Unadorned Carbon Nitride on Photodegradation and Bioavailability of Multifungicides in the Environment

Abstract

Unadorned carbon nitride was synthesized via different nitrogen-rich precursors by thermal polymerization and applied to multifungicides for simultaneous photodegradation in the present study. Urea-derived carbon nitride (UCN) was verified to be most efficient in fungicide removal. The influences of catalyst dosage and pH were studied during the photodegradation process. Hydroxyl radical (•OH) and holes (h+) are the active species during photodegradation of each of the eight fungicides within an aqueous environment. The primary photodegradation products and pathways of all eight fungicides were systematically identified using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) analysis. In addition, the UCN catalyst was also applied to potted plants. The experimental results revealed that UCN could reduce fungicide residues in plants grown within a contaminated matrix. This study shows promising applications of the UCN catalyst in alleviating the hazards of pesticide residue.

Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Oxidation and Detoxification of Simulated Agricultural Wastewater Contaminated with Boscalid Fungicide Using g-C3N4 Catalyst

“…Similar to our results, Liu et al (2021) [33] reports good photocatalytic activity of urea-derived carbon nitride to remove boscalid and other fungicides, under visible light irradiation. More specifically, approximately 90% boscalid (initial concentration=2 mg L −1 ) removal was observed after 2 h using 500 mg L −1 of the catalyst.…”

“…More specifically, approximately 90% boscalid (initial concentration=2 mg L −1 ) removal was observed after 2 h using 500 mg L −1 of the catalyst. In contrast, heterogeneous photocatalysis was not found to be effective for the degradation of hexaconazole using ureaderived carbon nitride (15%) [33]. The photocatalytic degradation of atrazine herbicide by g-C 3 N 4 (prepared via pyrolysis of urea) was 52.57% after 60 min of visible light irradiation [37].…”

“…Despite significant advancements in photocatalysis research in recent years, the effectiveness of this process in the removal of boscalid using alternative photocatalysts remains limited. Additionally, previous investigations utilizing g-C 3 N 4 have primarily been conducted in controlled laboratory aqueous matrices rather than environmental matrices [33]. Notably, there is a dearth of scientific literature reporting on the degradation of boscalid in water using g-C 3 N 4 catalysts, especially when combined with biological techniques to assess the toxicity.…”

Nanofibers Loaded with Nonthermal Nitrogen Plasma-Treated g-C3N4 for Efficient Visible Light-Driven Photodegradation of Omethoate

“…However, although unmodified g-C 3 N 4 has been reported to be capable of photodegrading various fungicides, its photocatalytic efficiency still needs to be further improved compared to metal-containing semiconductor photocatalysts . A number of strategies have been proposed for improving the photocatalytic performance of the carbon nitride, such as modifying morphology and crystallinity, doping sulfur and boron atoms, creating defects, and loading carbon quantum dots. − These strategies are efficient in extending the light absorption range, enhancing the separation/transfer of the photogenerated charges, increasing the amount of the catalytic active sites, and thus favoring the improvement of the photocatalytic performance.…”