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Photochemical Degradation of the New Nicotine Pesticide Acetamiprid in Water

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Abstract

Acetamiprid is a novel nicotinic pesticide widely used in modern agriculture because of its low toxicity and specific biological target properties. The objective of this study was to understand the photolysis pattern of acetamiprid in the water column and elucidate its degradation products and mechanism. It was observed that acetamiprid exhibited different photolysis rates under different light source conditions in pure water, with ultraviolet > fluorescence > sunlight; furthermore, its photolysis half-life ranged from 17.3 to 28.6 h. In addition, alkaline conditions (pH 9.0) accelerated its photolysis rate, which increased with pH. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, five direct photolysis products generated during the exposure of acetamiprid to pure water were successfully separated and identified. The molecular structure of acetamiprid was further analyzed using density functional theory, and the active photodegradation sites of acetamiprid were predicted. The mechanism of the photolytic transformation of acetamiprid in water was mainly related to hydroxyl substitution and oxidation. Based on these findings, a comprehensive transformation pathway for acetamiprid was proposed.

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Acknowledgements

The work described in this article was supported by the Scientific research and innovation project of Weifang Medical University, the Weifang Science and Technology Development Plan Project, China (Grant No. 2023GX029).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China

    Xinqi Zhang, Changjian Li, Xueru Li & Jinyuan Wu

  2. School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, No. 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, China

    Huimin Zhu

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Contributions

Huimin Zhu: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data collection. Xinqi Zhang: Writing first draft. Changjian Li: Review & editing, Supervision. Xueru Li: Visualization. Jinyuan Wu: Software, Validation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Changjian Li.

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Zhu, H., Zhang, X., Li, C. et al. Photochemical Degradation of the New Nicotine Pesticide Acetamiprid in Water. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 112, 62 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-024-03875-0

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