Identification of photodegradation product of organophosphorus pesticides and elucidation of transformation mechanism under simulated sunlight irradiation

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) are posing great threat to the environment and human health, due to their overuse and persistence in the environment. Photolysis has been established as an effective method to degrade OPs. The influence of pH value, the initial concentration of pesticides and the light source on the photolysis of two OPs, including chlorpyrifos and dimethoate, was investigated. The optimal reaction condition for OPs degradation was under pH 9, with xenon lamp as the light source, in which the photodegradation efficiencies of chlorpyrifos and dimethoate (500 mg/L) were 75.12% and 94.31%, respectively. The photodegradation products of chlorpyrifos and dimethoate were identified by GC-MS. Also, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to characterize the molecular properties of chlorpyrifos and dimethoate, as well as predicting potential photolysis reactions. Photodegradation mechanisms of chlorpyrifos and dimethoate were proposed, in which 3,5,6-trichloropyridinol (TCP), O,O-diethyl thiophosphate (DETP), 2,3,5-Trichloro-6-methoxypyridine (TMP) and O,O,S-trimethyl phosphorothioate were identified as the main products of chlorpyrifos degradation. Omethoate, O,O,S-trimethyl thiophosphorothioate, N-methyl-2-sulfanylacetamide, O,O,O-trimethyl thiophosphate, O,O,S-trimethylphosphorothiate, and O,O,O-trimethyl phosphoric ester as the main photodegradation products for dimethoate. The main degradation mechanisms included ring opening, cleavage, oxidation and demethylation. This work demonstrated the feasibility of combining chemical analysis with quantum chemical calculation in unraveling degradation mechanisms of OPs. Also, it is of great significance for evaluating the environmental fate of OPs in aquatic system and further environmental risk assessment.

Automated summary

This study found that photolysis can effectively degrade organophosphorus pesticides (OPs), with chlorpyrifos and dimethoate achieving high photodegradation efficiencies under specific conditions (pH 9, xenon lamp as light source). Through experimental and theoretical exploration, the photodegradation mechanisms of chlorpyrifos and dimethoate were revealed.