Zero-Valent Aluminum as Reducer in Sodium Carbonate Solution for Degradation of Imidacloprid

Imidacloprid (IMI) was reduced by zero-valent aluminum (ZVA1) in sodium carbonate solution and tested by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The IMI degradation rate was heavily dependent on Na2CO3 concentration and reaction time but only slightly on temperature, reaching 99.4% in 0.5 mol/L Na2CO3 solution with 5 g/L ZVA1 in 60 min. The degradation of IMI follows first-order kinetics. We used high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) for analyzing the transformation products, and found that IMI disintegrated into IMI urea, IMI guanidine, IMI nitrosamine, and 1-choloro-5-methcyclohea-1,4-diene.