Nanoremediation of dimethomorph in water samples using magnesium aluminate nanoparticles

The present work aims to prepare magnesium aluminate nanoparticles (MgAl2O4 NPs) using aluminum isopropoxide and magnesium ethoxide by hydrolysis reaction and to investigate them as new adsorbent materials for the extraction and clean-up of dimethomorph pesticide from tap water. The MgAl2O4 NPs were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The XRD result confirmed the formation of the spinal cubic structure in the fabricated sample. A solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge packed with MgAl2O4 NPs was used to extract dimethomorph pesticide from water samples. The extracted pesticide solution was quantified using a validated liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was found to be 1-g/L, signifying the sensitivity of the LC-MS-MS. The water samples were passed through the cartridges and investigated to find the adsorption strength of the pesticides under the influence of temperature, volume of sample, flow rate, pH and ionic strength on the efficiency of the cartridge. The extraction efficiency of the developed MgAl2O4 NPs SPE was found to be higher than that of commercially available SPE-C18-cartridge. The average recoveries of the pesticides ranged from 90%-94% which was obtained at two different fortification levels of 1 and 10-g/L using MgAl2O4 NPs SPE. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.