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Photolysis of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in aqueous solutions at the presence of natural water photoreactive constituents under simulated sunlight irradiation

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Abstract

The photolysis of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) under simulated sunlight in the presence of the natural water photoreactive constituents was investigated. The presence of nitrate or ferric ions facilitated the photodegradation of DEHP via oxidation by generation of •OH. The fulvic acids (FAs), at low concentrations, promoted the photolysis of DEHP via energy transfer from the photoreaction-generated 3FA*. However, the DEHP photolysis was inhibited with high concentrations of FAs since the excess FAs at the surface of solution could act as light screening agents to keep FAs in bulk solution from the light irradiation, further reducing the 3FA* generation. When low concentrations of FAs and chloride ions coexist, the reactive chloride species Cl• and Cl2•− could generate via energy transfer from 3FA* to chloride ions and react with DEHP to enhance its degradation. Furthermore, the direct and •OH-initiated DEHP photodegraded intermediates and end products were identified by HPLC-MS2 and its corresponding photolysis pathways were proposed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mrs. Jialu Lin and Shuihong Pan from Wenzhou University for their operation of LC-MS2 experimental test and analysis of the photodegraded products for this work.

Funding

The research project was jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21477088) and the Initiating funding of South-Central University for Nationalities (YZZ18018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environmental Science, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Qian Yu, Xiyao Xiong & Chengjun Wang

  2. Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo, 315100, China

    Jun He

  3. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA, 02747, USA

    Yuegang Zuo

  4. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Yong Chen

Authors
  1. Qian Yu
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  2. Xiyao Xiong
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  4. Yuegang Zuo
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  5. Yong Chen
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  6. Chengjun Wang
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All authors contributed equally.

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Correspondence to Chengjun Wang.

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Yu, Q., Xiong, X., He, J. et al. Photolysis of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in aqueous solutions at the presence of natural water photoreactive constituents under simulated sunlight irradiation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 26797–26806 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05913-5

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