Adsorption behavior of imidacloprid pesticide on polar microplastics under environmental conditions: critical role of photo-aging

doi:10.1007/s11783-023-1641-0

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2023, Vol. 17

Issue (4) : 41 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1641-0

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Adsorption behavior of imidacloprid pesticide on polar microplastics under environmental conditions: critical role of photo-aging

Weiyi Liu, Ting Pan, Hang Liu, Mengyun Jiang, Tingting Zhang(

)

Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Research Centre for Resource and Environment, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China

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Abstract

● Small molecular chains formed on photo-aged polylactic acid microplastics (MPs).

● Oxygen-containing functional groups generated on photo-aged polyamide MPs.

● Photo-aging has the opposite influence on the imidacloprid adsorption on two MPs.

● Electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonds were the main mechanisms.

● High pH value and low ionic strength increase the adsorption capacity.

The photo-aging behavior of microplastics (MPs) in natural environment has become a global concern. The ultraviolet radiation has enough energy to change the polymer structure and physical-chemical properties of MPs. Less attention has focused on the interactions of the photo-aged polar and biodegradable MPs with organic pollutants. This work investigated the structural properties of aged polar polyamide (PA) MPs and biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) MPs exposed to ultraviolet irradiation and their adsorption behavior and mechanism for neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid (IMI). The results showed that the MPs had extensive changes in surface morphology and chemical properties after photo-aging. The C–N bond of PA MPs was disrupted to form more carbonyl groups. The oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of aged PLA MPs were broken and generated relatively smaller molecules. The adsorption capacity of IMI on PA MPs decreased by 19.2 %, while the adsorption capacity of IMI on PLA MPs increased by 41.2 % after photo-aging. This depended on the natural structure of the MPs and their ability to absorb ultraviolet light. The electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonds, van der Waals interactions, and polar-polar interactions were the main adsorption mechanisms of IMI on MPs. High initial solution pH and low ionic strength favored the adsorption of IMI by altering charge distribution on the MPs surface. The formation of the humic acid-IMI complexes decreased the concentration of IMI in the water phase and further decreased the adsorption on MPs. These results are enlightening for a scientific comprehension of the environmental behavior of the polar MPs.

Keywords Microplastics Neonicotinoid insecticide Photo-aging adsorption Environmental conditions

Corresponding Author(s): Tingting Zhang

Issue Date: 27 October 2022

Cite this article:

Weiyi Liu,Ting Pan,Hang Liu, et al. Adsorption behavior of imidacloprid pesticide on polar microplastics under environmental conditions: critical role of photo-aging[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2023, 17(4): 41.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-023-1641-0
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2023/V17/I4/41

Fig.1 Characteristics of MPs before and after photo-aging. SEM images of (a)–(b) pristine PA MPs and (c)–(d) photo-aging PA-UV MPs; (e)–(f) Contact angles of PA and PA-UV MPs; (g)–(h) XPS C 1s spectra of PA and PA-UV MPs; (i) FTIR spectra of PA and PA-UV MPs.

Fig.2 Kinetic curves of IMI adsorbed onto PA MPs and PLA MPs based on (a), (d) pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models; (b), (e) Webber-Morris model; (c), (f) Boyd model.

Fig.3 Sorption isotherms of IMI onto (a)–(c) PA MPs, (d)–(f) PA-UV MPs based on Henry linear, Freundlich, and Langmuir models at different temperatures.

Fig.4 XPS spectra of PA-UV and PLA-UV MPs before and after photo-aging, (a)–(b) the XPS spectra of PA-UV and PLA-UV MPs; (c)–(e) the N 1s spectra and O 1s spectra of PA-UV and PLA-UV MPs.

Fig.5 Effect of initial solution pH value on the adsorption of IMI on PA and PA-UV MPs: (a) adsorption capacity of IMI on PA, PA-UV, PLA, and PLA-UV MPs; (b) IMI hydrolysis.

Fig.6 Effect of salinity on the adsorption of IMI on PA, PA-UV, PLA, and PLA-UV MPs: (a) NaCl; (b) CaCl₂; (c) MgCl₂; (d) NaNO₃; (e) Na₂SO₄.

Fig.7 Adsorption of (a) 2 mg/L IMI on 3 g/L PA MPs with 0–50 mg/L HA as well as fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) of (b) 50 mg/L HA; (c) 50 mg/L HA with 2 mg/L IMI; (d) 50 mg/L HA with 2 mg/L IMI adsorption on 3 g/L PA MPs.

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