Hydroxyl Radical Based Photocatalytic Degradation of Halogenated Organic Contaminants and Paraffin on Silica Gel

Computational study on the endocrine-disrupting metabolic activation of Benzophenone-3 catalyzed by cytochrome P450 1A1: A QM/MM approach

Predicting the metabolic activation mechanism and potential hazardous metabolites of environmental endocrine-disruptors is a challenging and significant task in risk assessment. Here the metabolic activation mechanism of benzophenone-3 catalyzed by P450 1A1 was investigated by using Molecular Dynamics, Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics and Density Functional Theory approaches. Two elementary reactions involved in the metabolic activation of BP-3 with P450 1A1: electrophilic addition and hydrogen abstraction reactions were both discussed. Further conversion reactions of epoxidation products, ketone products and the formaldehyde formation reaction were investigated in the non-enzymatic environment based on previous experimental reports. Binding affinities analysis of benzophenone-3 and its metabolites to sex hormone binding globulin indirectly demonstrates that they all exhibit endocrine-disrupting property. Toxic analysis shows that the eco-toxicity and bioaccumulation values of the benzophenone-3 metabolites are much lower than those of benzophenone-3. However, the metabolites are found to have skin-sensitization effects. The present study provides a deep insight into the biotransformation process of benzophenone-3 catalyzed by P450 1A1 and alerts us to pay attention to the adverse effects of benzophenone-3 and its metabolites in human livers.

Toxicity assessment of dioxins and their transformation by-products from inferred degradation pathways

Due to the significant POPs characteristics, dioxins caused concern in public health and environmental protection. Evaluating the toxicity risk of dioxin degradation pathways is critical. OCDD, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD, and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF, which are highly abundant in the environment and have strong biodegradation capabilities, were selected as precursor molecules in this study. Firstly, their transformation pathways were deduced during the metabolism of biometabolism, microbial aerobic, microbial anaerobic, and photodegradation pathways, and density function theory (DFT) was used to calculate the Gibbs free energy to infer the possibility of the occurrence of the transformation pathway. Secondly, the carcinogenic potential of the precursors and their degradation products was evaluated using the TOPKAT modeling method. With the help of the positive indicator (0-1) normalization method and heat map analysis, a significant increase in the toxic effect of some of the transformation products was found, and it was inferred that it was related to the structure of the transformation products. Meanwhile, the strength of the endocrine disrupting effect of dioxin transformation products was quantitatively assessed using molecular docking and subjective assignment methods, and it was found that dioxin transformation products with a higher content of chlorine atoms and molecules similar to those of thyroid hormones exhibited a higher risk of endocrine disruption. Finally, the environmental health risks caused by each degradation pathway were comprehensively assessed with the help of the negative indicator (1-2) standardization method, which provides a theoretical basis for avoiding the toxicity risks caused by dioxin degradation transformation. In addition, the 3D-QSAR model was used to verify the necessity and rationality of this study. This paper provides theoretical support and reference significance for the toxicity assessment of dioxin degradation by-products from inferred degradation pathways.

Direct Determination of Absolute Radical Quantum Yields in Hydroxyl and Sulfate Radical-Based Treatment Processes

The absolute radical quantum yield (Φ ) is a critical parameter to evaluate the efficiency of radical-based processes in engineered water treatment. However, measuring Φ is fraught with challenges, as current quantification methods lack selectivity, specificity, and anti-interference capabilities, resulting in significant error propagation. Herein, we report a direct and reliable time-resolved technique to determine Φ at pH 7.0 for commonly used radical precursors in advanced oxidation processes. For H2O2 and peroxydisulfate (PDS), the values of Φ •OH and Φ SO 4 • - at 266 nm were measured to be 1.10 ± 0.01 and 1.46 ± 0.05, respectively. For peroxymonosulfate (PMS), we developed a new approach to determine Φ • OH PMS with terephthalic acid as a trap-and-trigger probe in the nonsteady state system. For the first time, the Φ • OH PMS value was measured to be 0.56 by the direct method, which is stoichiometrically equal to Φ SO 4 • - PMS (0.57 ± 0.02). Additionally, radical formation mechanisms were elucidated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The theoretical results showed that the highest occupied molecular orbitals of the radical precursors are O-O antibonding orbitals, facilitating the destabilization of the peroxy bond for radical formation. Electronic structures of these precursors were compared, aiming to rationalize the tendency of the Φ values we observed. Overall, this time-resolved technique with specific probes can be used as a reliable tool to determine Φ , serving as a scientific basis for the accurate performance evaluation of diverse radical-based treatment processes.

Photodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyls in water/nitrogen-doped silica and air/nitrogen-doped silica systems: Kinetics, mechanism and quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) analysis

Developing efficient and low-cost photocatalytic materials is essential for removing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In this work, the photodegradation process of fourteen representative polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in both water/nitrogen-doped SiO2 (N-SiO2) and air/N-SiO2 systems was studied. The photodegradation kinetics of PCBs is consistent with the pseudo-first-order kinetic equation. The variation in the degradation effects of different PCBs in the two systems is primarily related to the position of the Cl substituent and the effective absorption wavelength range of PCBs. A total of fourteen intermediates for 4'-Dichlorobiphenyl (PCB-15), 2,2',4,4',6,6'-Hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB-155), and 2,2',3,3',4,4',5,5',6,6'-Decachlorobiphenyl (PCB-209) generated from four reaction pathways were identified based on both mass spectrometry analysis and theoretical calculations. Using the values of lnk (k denotes pseudo-first-order kinetic constants) for the 11 PCBs in the training set and the calculated molecular and structural parameters, quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models for the two systems were constructed by using multiple linear regression (MLR) method to better understand the factors affecting the photodegradation rate of PCBs. The QSAR equations were obtained with Cl atom substitution at position 3 (N3) as the main parameter, which were lnk = -1.98 - 0.19 N3 for the water/N-SiO2 system and lnk = -1.56 - 0.34 N3 for the air/N-SiO2 system, with the correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.66 and 0.73, leave-one-out cross-validation (Q2LOO) of 0.51 and 0.59, respectively, and bootstrapping validation coefficients (Q2BOOT) values of both 0.74, confirming that the models were well fitted and showed high robustness and prediction ability. This study provides valuable insights into photocatalytic degradation studies of PCBs.

Insights into the photocatalytic degradation of hydrophobic organic contaminants on the surface of nitrogen doped silica: New findings of the formation of silicon-based substitution products

In this work, nitrogen-doped SiO2 (N-SiO2) was successfully synthesized to develop an "adsorption-photocatalytic degradation" water purification technology to remove hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs). As a representative of HOCs, decabromodiphenylethane (DBDPE) could be efficiently degraded under simulated sunlight after adsorption on the surface of N-SiO2. Due to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and silicon-based radicals, the photodegradation rate of DBDPE on water-SiO2 interface was 1.5-fold higher than that in water. Furthermore, the transformation pathways of DBDPE on N-SiO2 surface were compared with that in water. Bond breaking and debromination reactions were the common pathways, while hydroxylation and silicon-based substitution reactions were the specific transformation pathways for DBDPE on the surface of N-SiO2. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation was used to reveal the generation mechanism of silicon-based radicals and determine the rationality of the involvement of silicon-based radicals in DBDPE transformation. The energy barriers of silicon-based substitution reaction were comparable to that of hydroxylation and debromination reactions, which confirmed the plausibility of the generation of silicon-based substitution products. This study provides an efficient method for the disposal of HOCs, which also gives some new insights into the conversion mechanism of organic pollutants mediated by silicon-based radicals.

Comparing the photodegradation of typical antibiotics in ice and in water: Degradation kinetics, mechanisms, and effects of dissolved substances

New antibiotic contaminants have been detected in both surface waters and natural ice across cold regions. However, few studies have revealed distinctions between their ice and aqueous photochemistry. In this study, the photodegradation and effects of the main dissolved substances on the photolytic kinetics were investigated for sulfonamides (SAs) and fluoroquinolones (FQs) in ice/water under simulated sunlight. The results showed that the photolysis of sulfamethizole (SMT), sulfachloropyridazine (SCP), enrofloxacin (ENR) and difloxacin (DIF) in ice/water followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics with their quantum yields ranging from 4.93 × 10-3 to 11.15 × 10-2. The individual antibiotics experienced disparate photodegradation rates in ice and in water. This divergence was attributed to the concentration-enhancing effect and the solvent cage effect that occurred in the freezing process. Moreover, the main constituents (Cl-, HASS, NO3- and Fe(III)) exhibited varying degrees of promotion or inhibition on the photodegradation of SAs and FQs in the two phases (p < 0.05), and these effects were dependent on the individual antibiotics and the matrix. Extrapolation of the laboratory data to the field conditions provided a reasonable estimate of environmental photolytic half-lives (t1/2,E) during midsummer and midwinter in cold regions. The estimated t1/2,E values ranged from 0.02 h for ENR to 14 h for SCP, which depended on the reaction phases, latitudes and seasons. These results revealed the similarities and differences between the ice and aqueous photochemistry of antibiotics, which is important for the accurate assessment of the fate and risk of these new pollutants in cold environments.

Enhanced permanganate oxidation of phenolic pollutants by alumina and potential industrial application

In this study, we found that alumina (Al2O3) may improve the degradation of phenolic pollutants by KMnO4 oxidation. In KMnO4/Al2O3 system, the removal efficiency of 2,4-Dibromophenol (2,4-DBP) was increased by 26.5%, and the apparent activation energy was decreased from 44.5 kJ/mol to 30.9 kJ/mol. The mechanism of Al2O3-catalytic was elucidated by electrochemical processes, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization and theoretical analysis that the oxidation potential of MnO4- was improved from 0.46 V to 0.49 V. The improvement was attributed to the formation of coordination bonds between the O atoms in MnO4- and the empty P orbitals of the Al atoms in Al2O3 crystal leading to the even-more electron deficient state of MnO4-. The excellent reusability of Al2O3, the good performance on degradation of 2,4-DBP in real water, the satisfactory degradation of fixed-bed reactor, and the enhanced removal of 6 other phenolic pollutants demonstrated that the KMnO4/Al2O3 system has satisfactory potential industrial application value. This study offers evidence for the improvement of highly-efficient MnO4- oxidation systems.

Phototransformation of halobenzoquinones in aqueous solution under the simulate sunlight: Kinetics, mechanism and products

Halobenzoquinones (HBQs) are a novel family of unregulated disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Little is known about their phototransformation activities in natural water. Here, five HBQs with various halogenated substituent types, numbers, and structures positions were selected to investigate the kinetics of degradation in aqueous solutions at various concentrations and in the presence of common environmental variables (Cl-, NO2-, and humic acid). The results indicated that dichloride and dibromo-substituted HBQs were photolyzed, whereas tetrachloro-substituted HBQs showed little degradation. The photolysis rate constant (k) of HBQs decreased with increasing initial concentration. The presence of NO2- and Cl- promoted the degradation of HBQs mainly through the formation of hydroxyl radical (•OH), which were confirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). In contrast, humic acid played a negative role on HBQs transformation due to the adsorption and quenching reactions. Possible conversion pathways for HBQs were proposed based on the identification of two major photodegradation products, hydroxylated HBQs and halogenated-benzenetriol, as well as reactive free radicals. This study provided meaningful insights into the environmental fates and risk assessments of HBQs in natural aquatic system.

Potassium permanganate oxidation enhanced by infrared light and its application to natural water

Photocoupled permanganate (PM) is an effective way to enhance the oxidation efficiency of PM, however, the activation of PM by infrared has received little attention. This study aimed to investigate the ability of infrared light to activate PM. When coupled with infrared, the degradation rate of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) is increased to 3.54 times of PM oxidation alone. The accelerated reaction was due to the formation of vibrationally excited PM by absorbing 3.1 kJ mol-1 infrared energy, which also leads to the primary reactive intermediates Mn(V/IV) in the reaction system. The infrared coupled PM system also showed 1.14-2.34 times promotion effect on other organic pollutants. Furthermore, solar composed of 45% infrared, coupled PM system showed excellent degradation performance, where the degradation of 4-CP in 10 L of tap water and river water was 68 and 23 times faster than in ultrapure water, respectively. The faster-increased degradation rate in natural waters is mainly due to the abundant inorganic ions, which can stabilize the manganese species, and then has a positive effect on 4-CP degradation. In summary, this work develops a energy-efficient photoactivated PM technology that utilizes infrared and provides new insights into the design of novel sunlight-powered oxidation processes for water treatment.

The mechanism of photodegradation reaction of different dissociation forms of tetrabromobisphenol S in water with free radicals and the ecotoxicity evaluation of related products

Tetrabromobisphenol S (TBBPS) is a widely used brominated flame retardant that has attracted environmental concern due to its abundant presence in water. The objective of this study is to systematically analyze the direct photolysis and degradation mechanisms of TBBPS in two different dissociation forms in water, as well as to evaluate their toxicological effects induced by •OH, 1O2, and •NO2 radicals. The degradation mechanism of TBBPS is investigated with density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) methods, and the toxicity of the degradation products is assessed through toxicological studies. The results of the study indicate that the OH-addition and H-abstraction reactions are favorable pathways for •OH-induced TBBPS degradation. The H-abstraction reaction of TBBPS0 with •OH was more favorable than the •OH addition reaction. However, in the degradation of TBBPS-, the •OH addition reaction was favored over the H-abstraction reaction. Additionally, the indirect photolysis of TBBPS by 1O2 and •NO2 in water was found to be easier for TBBPS- compared to TBBPS0, with degradation mechanisms involving Br-substitution and NO2-addition reactions. The higher Ea values calculated indicate that the degradation of TBBPS by 1O2 and •NO2 in water has been a secondary reaction. The direct photolysis reaction pathway of TBBPS in water has involved the cleavage of the S1-C7 and S1-C16 bonds. For TBBPS0 in the S1/T1 states, the primary reaction pathway is the cleavage of the S1-C16 bond, while for TBBPS-, the primary reaction pathway is the cleavage of the S1-C7 bond. Furthermore, the computational toxicology results indicate a slight increase in the toxicity levels of most products, highlighting the significance of investigating the degradation byproducts of TBBPS in greater detail.

Photodegradation of typical pharmaceuticals changes toxicity to algae in estuarine water: A metabolomic insight

The ubiquitous existence of various pharmaceuticals in the marine environment has received global attention for their risk assessment. However, rather little is known thus far regarding the natural attenuation (e.g., photolysis)-induced product/mixture toxicity of these pharmaceuticals on marine organisms. In this study, the photodegradation behavior, product formation, and risks of two representative pharmaceuticals (i.e., ciprofloxacin, CIP; diclofenac, DCF) were explored in the simulated estuary water. It was noted that both pharmaceuticals can be completely photolyzed within 1 h, and five products of CIP and three products of DCF were identified by a high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer. Accordingly, their photodecomposition pathways were tentatively proposed. The in silico prediction suggested that the formed transformation products maintained the persistence, bioaccumulation potential, and multi-endpoint toxic effects such as genotoxicity, developmental toxicity, and acute/chronic toxicity on different aquatic species. Particularly, the non-targeted metabolomics first elucidated that DCF and its photolytic mixtures can significantly affect the antioxidant status of marine algae (Heterosigma akashiwo), triggering oxidative stress and damage to cellular components. It is very alarming that the complete photolyzed DCF sample induced more serious oxidative stress than DCF itself, which called for more concern about the photolysis-driven ecological risks. Overall, this investigation first uncovered the overlooked but serious toxicity of the transformation products of prevalent pharmaceuticals during natural attenuation on marine species.

Effects of carbon-silicon structure on photochemical activity of biochars

Biochar has raised increasing concerns because of its great environmental impacts. It is known that the photocatalytic property of biochar is related to its carbon component and dissolved black carbon, but the effect of silicon component is ignored, and the effect of silicon and carbon phases was far less studied. This study systematically explored the photochemistry of silicon-rich and silicon-deficient biochar under light irradiation by using hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and sulfadiazine as representative pollutants for photoreduction and photooxidation, respectively. It was found that biochar had photoreduction activity under the enhancement of electron donors, and 80.1% Cr(VI) can be removed by biochar with crystalline silicon and carbon (i.e., RH900) after 12 h irradiation. Meanwhile after low temperature pyrolysis, biochar with amorphous silicon and carbon (i.e., RH600) had great photooxidation capacity, and 71.90% organic pollutant was degraded within 24 h. The reaction was illustrated by transient photocurrent response, and hydroxyl radical generation measurement, and other tests. A new photochemical mechanism of the synergy between silicon and carbon model was proposed to elucidate the redox reactions of pollutants under the light. Graphitic carbon or crystalline silicon formed under high temperature played a role of valence band which was excited under light irradiation and the effect of electron donors to benefit photoreduction, while amorphous silicon formed under low temperature facilitated photooxidation process by increasing reactive oxygen species concentration. This study provided a gist for biochar production and application in the field of photocatalysis, and contributed to the broader understanding of biochar geochemical behavior in natural sunlit system.

Synthesis of environmentally friendly neonicotinoid insecticide with proper functional properties by theoretical methodologies

Modern insecticide substitutes using acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) as biochemical targets, such as neonicotinoid insecticides (NNIs), have been extensively researched. Only 12 compounds have been experimentally realized since the initial discovery of imidacloprid. Increasingly, the bottleneck in this field is to rapidly determine the synthesizability of NNI substitutes. Here, we designed a coupled evaluation system for synthesis prediction and validation, including the synthesis probability, reaction path difficulty, and electron transfer characteristics of NNIs and their substitutes. Firstly, a total of 1475 eigenvalues were generated and 52 critical eigenvalues were screened out through the Pearson's correlation coefficient. The positive and unlabeled (PU) machine learning was constructed using the critical eigenvalues NNIs, including 12 experimentally synthesized NNIs (positive samples) and 73 unsynthesized NNI substitutes (unlabeled samples). Results identified 3 NNI substitutes that were highly promising candidates for synthesis (synthesis probability > 0.5). The results of density functional theory demonstrated the ranking of their reaction ease was UN-1 (31.4 kcal/mol) > UN-2 (81.6 kcal/mol) > UN-3 (3.35 ×103 kcal/mol). Time-dependent density functional theory revealed that changes in the electron distribution and electron excitation type were critical factors affecting their synthesizability, and the local excitation type was more favorable for the synthesizability of NNI substituents. The findings provide significant guidance for NNIs synthesis, reducing the possible space of unlabeled samples to 95.89% of their original size, while also minimizing the cost of research on subsequent NNI substitutes.

Sepiolite promotes photodegradation of pyrene under visible light

Mechanochemistry and photocatalysis are emergent technologies for the remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils. In this work, mechanochemistry and photocatalysis are combined for pyrene degradation. The photodegradation of pyrene, when in contact with sepiolite under pressure application, is studied. The mechanical treatment leads to a pyrene crystal phase transformation. In this new phase, pyrene undergoes a fast photodegradation in the 320-420 nm range. We show that sepiolite is superior as a photocatalyst in pyrene degradation to TiO2, the most exploited photocatalyst. A broad physicochemical characterization is carried out to propose a mechanism in which the photoexcitation of mechanically altered pyrene leads to an electron transfer to sepiolite matrix, which triggers the PAH degradation. Finally, we want to highlight that the pyrene/sepiolite combination is a simplified system to shed light on how PAH photodegradation may occur in soils.

New insight into the removal process of benzotriazole UV stabilizers by UV/H2O2: Integrating quantum chemical calculation with CFD simulation

Benzotriazole UV stabilizers (BT-UVs) are important UV absorbers. As high-production chemicals and potential hazards, their ubiquitous presence in aquatic environments is of greatly pressing concern. Herein, the removal of six typical BT-UVs by UV/H2O2 was comprehensively investigated by quantum chemistry calculation integrated with CFD simulation. Utilizing such a micro and macro incorporated model in treating contaminants is the first report. From the micro-view, degradation mechanisms of BT-UVs by •OH oxidation were determined, and corresponding rate constants were obtained with values of 109∼1010 M-1s-1. In a macroscopic aspect, combining the established kinetic model and CFD simulation, the effects of UV lamp power (P), volumetric flow rate (Qv), and H2O2 dosage ([H2O2]0) on removal yields of BT-UVs were expounded, increasing P or [H2O2]0 or decreasing Qv are effective in improving removal yields of BT-UVs, but the enhancement was abated when P or [H2O2]0 increased to a certain level. When [H2O2]0 is 5 mg/L and Qv is decreased from 0.1 to 0.05 m3/h, the removal yields of BT-UVs could achieve more than 95% (P = 150 W) and 99% (P = 250 W), respectively. This work provides a new interdisciplinary insight for investigating organic contaminant removal in potential industrial applications of UV/H2O2 systems.

A Theoretical Study on the Degradation Mechanism, Kinetics, and Ecotoxicity of Metronidazole (MNZ) in •OH- and SO4•--Assisted Advanced Oxidation Processes

Metronidazole (MNZ), a typical example of nitroimidazole antibiotics, is widely used in the treatment of infectious diseases caused by anaerobic bacteria. The degradation mechanism and kinetics of MNZ in the presence of HO• and SO4•- were studied using density functional theory (DFT). It was confirmed that both HO• and SO4•- easily added to the carbon atom bonded to the NO2 group in the MNZ molecule as the most feasible reaction channel. This study shows that subsequent reactions of the most important product (M-P) include the O2 addition, hydrogen abstraction and bond breakage mechanisms. The rate constants of HO• and SO4•--initiated MNZ in the aqueous phase were calculated in the temperature range of 278-318 K. The total rate constants of MNZ with HO• and SO4•- were determined to be 8.52 × 109 and 1.69 × 109 M-1s-1 at 298 K, which were consistent with experimental values of (3.54 ± 0.42) × 109 and (2.74 ± 0.13) × 109 M-1s-1, respectively. The toxicity of MNZ and its degradation products to aquatic organisms has been predicted. The results proposed that the toxicity of the initial degradation product (M-P) was higher than that of MNZ. However, further degradation products of MNZ induced by HO• were not harmful to three aquatic organisms (fish, daphnia, and green algae). This study provides a comprehensive theoretical basis for understanding the degradation behavior of MNZ.

Screening eco-friendliness tire antioxidants alternatives: functional 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline derivatives design and toxicity evaluation

Antioxidants which are indispensable functional additives used in rubber tires, are released into aquatic habitats from tire wear particles (TWP), collected in water bodies, and threaten the aquatic ecosystem. This study aimed to design eco-friendly derivatives of 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline (TMQ) with increased antioxidant activity to use as tire antioxidants. Initially, seventy highly efficient derivatives of TMQ were designed by hydroxylation modifications at multiple sites. The antioxidant activity of hydroxyl derivatives was characterized based on DFT method and compared with TMQ. Twenty derivatives showing a significant (greater than 9%) increase in antioxidant activity compared to TMQ were selected for the next stage. The toxicity risk of these twenty TMQ derivatives was assessed using various toxicokinetic methods. Finally, six TMQ derivatives with significantly lower toxicity risk compared to that of TMQ were evaluated for potential developmental toxicity. They were characterized using molecular docking and molecular dynamics techniques to assess the developmental toxicity risk in silver salmon by absorption of their ROO·, HO·, O2·- and O3 derivatives. TMQ-6 and TMQ-48 showed the lowest toxicity among all TMQ derivatives by a rather large margin. The study throws light on the path of future endeavors to develop highly efficient and greener tire antioxidants.

Mechanistic understanding of rapid H2SO4-HNO3-NH3 nucleation in the upper troposphere

The upper troposphere (UT) nucleation is thought to be responsible for at least one-third of the global cloud condensation nuclei. Although NH₃ was considered to be extremely rare in the UT, recent studies show that NH₃ is convected aloft, promoting H₂SO₄-HNO₃-NH₃ rapid nucleation in the UT during the Asian monsoon. In this study, the roles of HNO₃, H₂SO₄ (SA), and NH₃ in the nucleation of SA-HNO₃-NH₃ were investigated by quantum chemical calculation and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations at the level of M06-2×/6-31 + G (d, p). The nucleation ability of SA-HNO₃-NH₃ is suppressed as the temperature increases in the UT. The results indicated that bisulfate (HSO₄^-), nitrate (NO₃^-), and ammonium (NH₄⁺) ionized from SA, HNO₃, and NH₃, respectively, can significantly enhance the nucleation ability of SA-HNO₃-NH₃. In addition, hydrated hydrogen ion (H₃O⁺) as well as sulfate ions (SO₄^2-) ionized by SA can also actively participate in the process of ion-induced nucleation. The results reveal that the enhancement effect of five ions on the SA-HNO₃-NH₃ nucleation can be ordered as follows: SO₄^2- > H₃O⁺ > HSO₄^- > NO₃^- > NH₄⁺. Many ion-induced nucleation pathways of SA-HNO₃-NH₃ with the Gibbs free energies of formation (ΔG) lower than -100 kcal mol^-1 were energetically favorable. HNO₃ and NH₃ can promote the nucleation of SA-HNO₃-NH₃ and water (W) molecules are also beneficial to promote the new particle formation (NPF) of SA-HNO₃-NH₃. Under the action of H-bonds and electrostatic interaction, ion-induced nucleation could lead to the rapid nucleation of H₂SO₄-HNO₃-NH₃ in the UT.

Insights into oxidation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) by low-dose ferrate(VI) catalyzed with α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles

In this study, the catalytic performance of α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles (nα-Fe₂O₃) in the low-dose ferrate (Fe(VI)) system was systematically studied through the degradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP). Based on the established quadratic functions between nα-Fe₂O₃ amount and observed pseudo first-order rate constant (k_obs), two linear correlation equations were offered to predict the optimum catalyst dosage and the maximum k_obs at an applied Fe(VI) amount. Moreover, characterization and cycling experiments showed that nα-Fe₂O₃ has good stability and recyclability. According to the results of reactive species identification and quenching experiment and galvanic oxidation process, the catalytic mechanism was proposed that Fe(III) on the surface of nα-Fe₂O₃ may react with Fe(VI) to enhance the generation of highly reactive Fe(IV)/Fe(V) species, which rapidly extracted a single electron from PCP molecule for its further reaction. Besides, two possible PCP degradation pathways, i.e., single oxygen transfer mediated hydroxylation and single electron transfer initiated polymerization were proposed. The formation of coupling products that are prone to precipition and separation was largely improved. This study proved that nα-Fe₂O₃ can effectively catalyze PCP removal at low-dose Fe(VI), which provides some support for the application of Fe(VI) oxidation technology in water treatment in the context of low-carbon emissions.

The photolytic behavior of COVID-19 antivirals ribavirin in natural waters and the increased environmental risk

Increasing drug residues in aquatic environments have been caused by the abuse of antivirals since the global spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, whereas research on the photolytic mechanism, pathways and toxicity of these drugs is limited. The concentration of COVID-19 antivirals ribavirin in rivers has been reported to increase after the epidemic. Its photolytic behavior and environmental risk in actual waters such as wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, river water and lake water were first investigated in this study. Direct photolysis of ribavirin in these media was limited, but indirect photolysis was promoted in WWTP effluent and lake water by dissolved organic matter and NO3-. Identification of photolytic intermediates suggested that ribavirin was photolyzed mainly via C-N bond cleavage, splitting of the furan ring and oxidation of the hydroxyl group. Notably, the acute toxicity was increased after ribavirin photolysis owing to the higher toxicity of most of the products. Additionally, the overall toxicity was greater when ARB photolysis in WWTP effluent and lake water. These findings emphasize the necessity to concern about the toxicity of ribavirin transformation in natural waters, as well as to limit its usage and discharge.

Photochemical transformation of anthracene (ANT) in surface soil: Chlorination and hydroxylation

To reveal the fate of anthracene (ANT) in soil, the photodegradation behavior of ANT was systematically studied using SiO₂ to simulate a soil environment. Under xenon lamp irradiation, more than 90% of ANT loaded on SiO₂ could be removed after 240 min. Moreover, the effects of water content, chloride ions (Cl^-) and humic acid (HA) were examined. It was found that the presence of water and HA can significantly inhibit the photolysis of ANT on SiO₂, while the addition of chloride alone has no obvious effect. However, when water is present, the inhibition effect of chloride became more obvious. According to radical quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra, hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and chlorine radicals (Cl•) were formed in the system. Possible reaction pathways were speculated based on products identified by mass spectrometry. ANT was attacked by •OH to form hydroxylated products, which can be further hydroxylated and oxidized with the final formation of ring-opening products. ANT directly excited by light may also react with Cl• to produce chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Cl-PAHs). Finally, the experimental results were verified on real soil. This study provides important information for understanding the photochemical transformation mechanism of ANT at the soil/air interface.

Computational Study of Photodegradation Process and Conversion Products of the Antidepressant Citalopram in Water

Citalopram (CIT) is a commonly prescribed medication for depression. However, the photodegradation mechanism of CIT has not yet been fully analyzed. Therefore, the photodegradation process of CIT in water is studied by density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory. The calculated results show that during the indirect photodegradation process, the indirect photodegradation of CIT with ·OH occurs via OH-addition and F-substitution. The minimum activation energy of C10 site was 0.4 kcal/mol. All OH-addition and F-substitution reactions are exothermic. The reaction of ¹O₂ with CIT includes the substitution of ¹O₂ for F and an addition reaction at the C14 site. The E_a value of this process is 1.7 kcal/mol, which is the lowest activation energy required for the reaction of ¹O₂ with CIT. C-C/C-N/C-F cleavage is involved in the direct photodegradation process. In the direct photodegradation of CIT, the activation energy of the C7-C16 cleavage reaction was the lowest, which was 12.5 kcal/mol. Analysis of the E_a values found that OH-addition and F-substitution, the substitution of ¹O₂ for F and addition at the C14 site, as well as the cleavage reactions of C6-F/C7-C16/C17-C18/C18-N/C19-N/C20-N are the main pathways of photodegradation of CIT.

Degradation efficiency and mechanism of 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) by thermally activated persulfate system

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) as a typical brominated flame retardant (BFR) have attracted worldwide attention due to the high environmental risk and resistance to conventional remediation processes. In this study, thermally activated persulfate (TAP) process was applied to degrade 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47), which is the most toxic and representative PBDEs in e-waste dismantling sites. Impact factors such as PDS dosage, heating temperature, and initial pH were evaluated. Results showed that BDE-47 can be 100% degraded within 180 min under the condition of PDS:BDE-47 = 1000:1, 60 °C, and pH = 7. Quenching experiments combined with EPR analysis further proved the important role of SO₄^·- in oxidating BDE-47. According to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) analysis, only one oxidation product of low toxicity was detected during the oxidation process. Theoretical calculations further revealed that the oxidation process mainly involved radical attack at C-Br bond, cleavage of C-Br bond, and fission of ether bond, and HSO₄· may also play an important role in BDE-47 degradation in TAP system. In addition, TAP system exhibited universality as all selected PBDE congeners can be degraded, and the degradation rate of PBDEs was greatly affected by the number of substituted Br atoms in a negative trend. Overall, these findings indicate that TAP can be applied as an effective method for removal of PBDEs, and we provide a new insight for the practical application of TAP technology in BDE-47 degradation from experimental and theoretical aspects.

Potential thyroid hormone disorder risks of tire antioxidants to aquatic food chain organisms after absorbing free radicals in marine and freshwater environments

Tire antioxidants are essential functional chemical additives in tire rubber production. Because of the characteristic easy precipitation in the water environment, the environmental pollution problem caused by tire antioxidants is concerning. To reveal the mechanism by which tire antioxidants reduce common oxidative factors (free radicals) in the environment and to control the potential biological thyroid hormone disorder risk of tire antioxidant derivatives, eight commonly used antioxidants in tire production were selected for analysis. Firstly, the ability of tire antioxidants to reduce three different free radicals was quantitatively characterized based on Gaussian calculation method and inferring the radical reduction mechanism of tire antioxidants. Moreover, using the PaDEL-Descriptor software and random forest algorithm found that the N-octanol/water partition coefficient, a structure descriptor of tire antioxidant molecules, significantly correlated with their reducing ability. Second, molecular docking and molecular dynamics methods were used to assess the thyroid hormone disorder risk to aquatic organisms of eight antioxidants after reducing three free radicals. And this is the first study to construct an assessment score list of potential thyroid hormone disorder risk of the derivatives of tire antioxidants after reducing free radicals to marine and freshwater aquatic organisms based on the risk entropy method. Through the screening of this list, it was found that the derivative of the antioxidant 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline oxidized by free radicals had the highest risk of thyroid hormone disorder. In addition, the top organism in the aquatic food chain was the most affected. This study also revealed that van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding were the main influencing factors of thyroid hormone disorder risk to aquatic organisms of the derivatives of tire antioxidants that reduce free radicals based on amino acid residue analysis. Overall, the results provide theoretical support for the selection of antioxidants and the avoidance and control of environmental risks in the tire rubber production process.

Field measures of strengthen plant-microbial remediation of PAHs-FQs compound pollution

In this study, five PAHs (benzo [b] fluoranthene (BbF), phenanthrene (Phe), fluoranthene (Flu), fluorene (Fl), benzo [A] pyrene (Bap)), and five FQs (ofloxacin (OFL), enrofloxacin (ENR), ciprofloxacin (CIP), norfloxacin (NOR), lomefloxacin (LOM)) were selected as ligands; peroxidase (1NML) was selected as receptor degrading protein. In the plant-microbial degradation, the factors with significant inhibitory effects are NOR, Bap, CIP, ENR, OFL, Flu, LOM, Phe, Fl, and BbF by the fractional factorial design experiment and molecular docking-assisted molecular dynamics methods. Using Taguchi experiment and molecular dynamics simulation methods, the main external field measures were designed and screened to effectively promote the degradation of PAHs-FQs under the combined pollution scenarios of Bap-CIP and BbF-NOR, respectively. The peroxidase mutation design plans with enhanced substrate affinity were then designed and screened using the DS software by predicting the virtual key amino acid of peroxidase. The novel biodegradable enzymes 2YCD-1, 2YCD-4, 2YCD-5, 2YCD-7, and 2YCD-9 had better structures and showed excellent degradability for PAHs and FQs. This study explored the degradation rules of the composite pollutants in the coexistence systems of multiple PAHs and FQs, providing the best external field measures for the control and treatment of the combined pollution effects of different PAHs and FQs. Overall, the current study has important practical significance for promoting the plant-microbial joint remediation of PAHs-FQs pollution and for reducing the combined pollution of PAHs and FQs in farmland systems.

The critical impacts of pyrochar during 2,4,6-trichlorophenol photochemical remediation process: Cooperation between persistent free radicals and oxygenated functional groups

The widespread use of polychlorophenols poses enormous environmental challenges. Biochar has the potential to accelerate the transformation of polychlorophenols. But the biochar-triggered photochemical decomposition mechanism of polychlorophenols still remains unclear. Herein, the photochemical behavior of pyrochar was comprehensively investigated in 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) remediation. Researches revealed that persistent free radicals (PFRs) and oxygenated functional groups (OFGs) on the surface of pyrochar cooperatively promoted ROS generation for TCP degradation. PFRs performed a key role of electron-donating and energy transfer in ROS conversion, especially in the activation of H₂O₂ into •OH. The hydroxyl groups of photosensitive components of pyrochar were photo-excited and provided electrons for enhanced ROS formation as well. With photogenerated ROS involved, more TCP was decomposed through dechlorination under light irradiation than that in the dark, in which ¹O₂, •OH, and •O₂^- were the dominant active species. During this process, stronger light intensities (3 W/m²) and shorter light wavelengths (400 nm) can provide more energy for the activation of PFRs and OFGs, promoting the decomposition of TCP. This work casts a new light on the environmental roles of pyrochar in the photochemical removal of polychlorophenol pollutants.

The aomogeneous and heterogeneous oxidation of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in the atmosphere: Take diphenyl phosphate (DPhP) as an example

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are widely detected in the atmosphere. However, the atmospheric oxidative degradation mechanism of OPEs has not been closely examined. This work took density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the tropospheric ozonolysis of organophosphates, represented by diphenyl phosphate (DPhP), including adsorption mechanisms on the surface of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) mineral aerosols and oxidation reaction of hydroxyl groups (·OH) after photolysis. Besides, the reaction mechanism, reaction kinetics, adsorption mechanism, and ecotoxicity evaluation of the transformation products were also studied. At 298 K, the total reaction rate constants k_O3, k_OH, k_TiO2-O3, and k_TiO2-OH are 5.72 × 10^-15 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1, 1.68 × 10^-13 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1, 1.91 × 10^-23 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1, and 2.30 × 10^-10 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1. The atmospheric lifetime of DPhP ozonolysis in the near-surface troposphere is 4 min, much lower than that of hydroxyl radicals (·OH). Besides, the lower the altitude is, the stronger the oxidation is. The TiO₂ clusters carry DPhP promoting ·OH oxidation but inhibiting ozonolysis of DPhP. Finally, the main transformation products of this process are glyoxal, malealdehyde, aromatic aldehydes, etc., which are still ecotoxic. The findings shed new light on the atmospheric governance of OPEs.

Degradation of tetracyclines by peracetic acid and UV/peracetic acid: Reactive species and theoretical computations

As an environment-friendly oxidant and disinfectant, peracetic acid (PAA) and PAA based-advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for the treatment of emerging micropollutants have raised increasing interest, owing to their ease of activation and less generation of harmful disinfection byproducts. Tetracyclines (TCs) antibiotics as a group of wide-spectrum antibiotics are frequently detected in sewage effluents, while the knowledge of PAA-based advanced oxidation reactions to remove the substrates is quite limited. In this work, we systematically investigated the kinetics and underlying transformation mechanisms of three TCs including tetracycline (TTC), oxytetracycline (OTC), and chlortetracycline (CTC) in the UV-activated PAA oxidation process. The results indicated that three TCs can be efficiently decayed by UV/PAA. The pseudo-first-order reaction rate constants (k_obs) of TCs followed the order: k_CTC (0.453 min^-1) ≫ k_TTC (0.164 min^-1) > k_OTC (0.158 min^-1). Quenching experiments showed that the removal of CTC was mainly ascribed to the direct oxidation of PAA, while TTC and OTC were more susceptible to free radicals. The k_obs values of the three TCs by PAA oxidation presented a fairly well correlation to the global nucleophilicity and the activation energies of the TC molecules, highlighting the structure-specific reactions of TCs to PAA. Based on product identification and theoretical calculation, N-demethylation and hydroxylation were proposed as the main pathways for TCs degradation by PAA non-radical oxidation. The combination of PAA and UV irradiation can further improve the degradation efficiency of TCs and contribute to reducing the diffusion and transmission of resistance genes in the environment.

Mechanistic insight into the degradation of 1H-benzotriazole and 4-methyl-1H-benzotriazole by •OH-based advanced oxidation process and toxicity assessment

Benzotriazoles (BTs) are highly produced chemicals that are commonly used in the manufacture of aircraft de-icing/antifreeze fluids (ADAFs), coolants, etc. BTs have been detected in a variety of water environments, causing health hazards to aquatic species and humans. In this study, 1H-benzotriazole (BTri) and 4-methyl-1H-benzotriazole (4-TTri) were selected to investigate their degradation mechanisms in the aqueous phase initiated by ·OH using a theoretical calculation method. Addition reactions are the main type of reactions of ·OH with BTri and 4-TTri. The total rate constants for the reactions of BTri and 4-TTri with ·OH at 298 K are 8.26 × 10⁹ M^-1 s^-1 and 1.81 × 10¹⁰ M^-1 s^-1, respectively. The reaction rate constants increase as the temperature rises, indicating that rising temperatures promote the degradation of BTri and 4-TTri. 7-hydroxy-1H-benzotriazole (1-P1) and 4-hydroxy-benzotriazoles (1-P2) produced via multiple reaction pathways are important transformation products of BTri. After successive reactions with ·OH, 1-P1 and 1-P2 can be successively converted to 4,7-dihydroxy-1H-benzotriazole (1-P7), 4,7-dione-1H-benzotriazole (1-P8), and 1,2,3-triazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid (1-P9), which is consistent with the product compositions detected in the experiments. The toxicity assessment indicated that the acute toxicity and chronic toxicity of the resulting transformation products are significantly reduced compared to BTri as the degradation process progressed, and ultimately showed no harm to all three aquatic organisms (fish, daphnia, and green algae). Hence, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) can not only effectively remove BTs from water, but also reduce their toxic effects on aquatic organisms.

The multiple roles of phenols in the degradation of aniline contaminants by sulfate radicals: A combined study of DFT calculations and experiments

Recent research revealed inhibition or enhancement of dissolved organic matter (DOM) to the degradation of trace organic contaminants (TrOC) in natural and engineered water systems. Phenols containing acetyl, carboxyl, formyl, hydroxy, and methoxy groups were selected as the model DOM to quantitatively study their roles in the degradation of simple anilines, sulfonamide antibiotics, phenylurea pesticides by sulfate radicals (SO₄^•-). Experimental results found that p-methoxyphenol inhibited aniline and sulfamethoxazole degradation by thermally activated peroxydisulfate (TAP), while p-acetylphenol slightly promoted aniline degradation. Quantum chemical calculations were applied to study the microscopic mechanism and kinetics of phenols affecting the degradation of aniline pollutants (AN) in three ways: competitively reacting with SO₄^•-, repairing aniline cationic radicals (AN^•+) and phenylaminyl radicals (AN(-H)^•), and generating phenoxy radicals to degrade anilines. Generally, the degradation of sulfonamides and phenylureas prefer to be inhibited by hydroxy- and methoxy-phenols with low oxidation potential (E_ox), due to their diffusion-limiting reaction with SO₄^•- and rapid back-reduction AN^•+ with the calculated rate constants of (0.02 - 6.38) × 10⁹ M^-1 s^-1. Phenols repairing AN(-H)^• through H abstraction reaction is speculated to possibly dominate the joint degradation of phenols and anilines by TAP, which has a poor correlation with E_ox. This study provides mechanistic insight into the chemical behavior of complex and heterogeneous DOM in complex aqueous environments.

New insights into enhanced electrochemical advanced oxidation mechanism of B-doped graphene aerogel: Experiments, molecular dynamics simulations and DFT

B-doped graphene, as an efficient and environmental-friendly metal-free catalyst, has aroused much attention in the electrochemical advanced oxidation process (EAOP), but the bottleneck in this field is to determine the relationship between the surface structure regulation and activity of catalysts. Herein, the B-doped graphene aerogel (BGA) fabricated gas diffusion electrode was prepared and used as a cathode for EAOP to remove tetracycline (TC). Higher free radical yield (169.59 μM), faster reaction speed (0.35 min^-1) and higher TC removal rate (99.93%) were found in the BGA system. Molecular dynamics simulation unveiled the interaction energy of BGA was greater than the raw graphene aerogel (GA). The adsorption-activation process of H₂O₂ and the degradation process of TC occurred in the first adsorption layer of catalysts. And both processes turned more orderly after B doping, which accelerated the reaction efficiency. Results of density functional theory displayed the contribution of three B-doped structures to improve the binding strength between H₂O₂ and BGA was: - BCO₂ (-0.23 eV) > - BC₂O (-0.16 eV) > - BC₃ (-0.09 eV). -BCO₂ was inferred to be the main functional region of H₂O₂ in-situ activation to hydroxyl radical (•OH), while -BC₂O and -BC₃ were responsible for improving H₂O₂ production.

Synthesis of Synthetic Musks: A Theoretical Study Based on the Relationships between Structure and Properties at Molecular Scale

Synthetic musks (SMs), as an indispensable odor additive, are widely used in various personal care products. However, due to their physico-chemical properties, SMs were detected in various environmental media, even in samples from arctic regions, leading to severe threats to human health (e.g., abortion risk). Environmentally friendly and functionally improved SMs have been theoretically designed in previous studies. However, the synthesizability of these derivatives has barely been proven. Thus, this study developed a method to verify the synthesizability of previously designed SM derivatives using machine learning, 2D-QSAR, 3D-QSAR, and high-throughput density functional theory in order to screen for synthesizable, high-performance (odor sensitivity), and environmentally friendly SM derivatives. In this study, three SM derivatives (i.e., D52, D37, and D25) were screened and recommended due to their good performances (i.e., high synthesizability and odor sensitivity; low abortion risk; and bioaccumulation ability in skin keratin). In addition, the synthesizability mechanism of SM derivatives was also analyzed. Results revealed that high intramolecular hydrogen bond strength, electrostatic interaction, qH⁺ value, energy gap, and low E_HOMO would lead to a higher synthesizability of SMs and their derivatives. This study broke the synthesizability bottleneck of theoretically designed environment-friendly SM derivatives and advanced the mechanism of screening functional derivatives.

OH-initiated degradation of 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene in the atmosphere and wastewater: Mechanisms, kinetics, and ecotoxicity

1,2,3-Trimethylbenzene (1,2,3-TMB) is an important volatile organic compound (VOC) present in petroleum wastewater and the atmosphere. This compound can be degraded by OH radicals via abstraction, addition and substitution mechanisms. Results show that the addition mechanism is dominant and H-abstraction is subdominant, while methyl abstraction and substitution mechanisms are negligible in the gas and aqueous phases. Moreover, H-abstraction products undergo further reactions with O₂, NO, NO₂, H₂O, and OH radicals in the atmosphere. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations show that the degraded products, including 2,3,4-trimethylphenyl-nitroperoxoite, 1,2,3-trimethyl-4-nitrobenzene, 1,2,3-trimethyl-5-nitrobenzene, 2,6-dimethylbenzyl nitroperoxoite, 2,3-dimethylphenyl nitroperoxoite, 2,6-dimethylbenzaldehyde, and 2,3-dimethylbenzaldehyde, can photolyze under the sunlight. Kinetically, the calculated total rate constant is 5.57 × 10^-11 cm³ molecule^-1·s^-1 at 1 atm and 298 K, which is consistent with available experimental values measured in the atmosphere. In addition, the calculated total reaction rate constant in water is close to that in the gas phase. In terms of ecotoxicity, all degradation products are less toxic than the initial reactant to fish, green algae and daphnia. For mammals represented by rats, 1,2,3-TMB and its products are moderately toxic, except for 2,3-dimethylphenol and 2,6-dimethylphenol, which are slightly toxic.

Promoting selective water decontamination via boosting activation of periodate by nanostructured Ru-supported Co3O4 catalysts

The superior catalytic efficiency of ruthenium (Ru)-based nanocomposites in advanced oxidation processes for water decontamination has attracted accumulating attention worldwide. However, rather limited knowledge is currently available regarding their roles in activating periodate (PI), an emerging oxidant with versatile environmental applications. This study firstly delineated that Ru-supported Co₃O₄ (Ru/Co₃O₄), a typical Ru-based nanomaterial, can efficiently accomplish PI activation to eliminate multiple organic micropollutants and inactivate different pathogenic bacteria. Almost all eight micropollutants can be completely removed within 2 min of Ru/Co₃O₄-PI oxidation except sulfamethoxazole (SMX), which was degraded ∼70 % at 2 min with 100 % mineralization after 10 min. The excellent catalytic performance was independent of PI dosages, initial pH, and coexisting water constituents, demonstrating its prominent capability as a selective oxidation strategy. Diverse lines of evidence indicated the dominant role of single oxygen in the Ru/Co₃O₄-PI system, which triggered the generation of five transformation products of SMX with reduced environmental risks. Concurrently, PI was stoichiometrically converted to the eco-friendly IO₃^-. Additionally, Ru/Co₃O₄-PI system achieved 6-log inactivation of different pathogenic bacteria within 1 min, implying the feasibility of rapid water disinfection. Overall, this work demonstrated the excellent promise of Ru-based composites in PI activation for highly efficient and selective water decontamination.

Novel control strategies for the endocrine-disrupting effect of PAEs to pregnant women in traffic system

Traffic-related air pollution has become a global issue, and scientific regulation measures are urgently needed to reduce traffic pollution. Phthalates (PAEs) have been widely detected in the traffic environment; thus, they were chosen as target pollutants because of their endocrine-disrupting effects. The pathways of action and mechanisms of PAEs' endocrine-disrupting effects in pregnant women through inhalation were deduced. A novel whole-process 1C + 3D + 5R regulation system was developed to control the endocrine-disrupting effect of PAEs on pregnant women based on the cleaning production concept. (1) For source reduction, the 2D-QSAR model of endocrine-disrupting effects of PAEs in pregnant women was constructed to screen out the key influencing factors as hydrogen bond interaction and hydrophobic interaction. Based on this, a designed PAE substitute molecule with low volatility and endocrine-disrupting effects and no developmental toxicity was screened. The substitute molecule could reduce the volatilization amount of PAEs at the source by 41.76 %; (2) For process interception, selecting C-band UV light to eliminate PAEs molecules in the traffic environment can slow down 19.99 % of the endocrine-disrupting effect of PAEs molecules. The homology modeling method was used to design four kinds of green belt plant proteins with high PAEs absorption efficiency to absorb PAEs molecules in the traffic environment. Compared with the original green belt plant proteins, the absorption amount of PAEs increased by up to 96.08 %, and (3) For terminal prevention, dietary food schemes were designed to regulate PAEs' endocrine-disrupting effect on pregnant women. The optimal dietary food scheme was the simultaneous intake of glutamate, catechin and folic acid, which could reduce the adverse effect of PAEs on maternal and infants by 32.51 %. This study presents theoretical support for regulating PAE exposure to specific populations in the traffic environment and treating other pollutants in the future.

Investigations on mechanisms, kinetics, and ecotoxicity in OH-initiated degradation of 1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene in the environment

As one of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the environment, 1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene (1,2,4,5-TeMB) present in oily wastewater, and it can occur substitution, abstraction, and addition reactions with OH radicals in the atmosphere and wastewater. Electrostatic potential (ESP) and average local ionization energy (ALIE) prediction indicate that H atoms from CH₃ group and the benzene ring are the most active sites in 1,2,4,5-TeMB. The result shows that potential energy surfaces (PESs) in the gas and aqueous phase are similar, and the relevant barriers in the latter one are higher. The dominant channel is H abstraction from the benzene ring, and the subdominant one is OH radical addition to the benzene ring. Furthermore, subsequent reactions of dominant products with O₂, NO₂, NO, and OH radicals in the atmosphere are studied, as well. The total reaction rate constant is calculated to be 2.36×10^-10 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1 at 1 atm and 298 K in the atmosphere, which agrees well with the experimental data. While the total rate constant in the aqueous phase is much lower than that in the gas phase. Ecologic toxicity analysis shows that 1,2,4,5-TeMB is very toxic to fish, daphnia, and green algae; and OH-initiated degradation in the environment will reduce its toxicity.

Removal of chloramphenicol antibiotics in natural and engineered water systems: Review of reaction mechanisms and product toxicity

Chloramphenicol antibiotics are widely applied in human and veterinary medicine. They experience natural attenuation and/or chemical degradation during oxidative water treatment. However, the environmental risks posed by the transformation products of such organic contaminants remain largely unknown from the literature. As such, this review aims to summarize and analyze the elimination efficiency, reaction mechanisms, and resulting product risks of three typical chloramphenicol antibiotics (chloramphenicol, thiamphenicol, and florfenicol) from these transformation processes. The obtained results suggest that limited attenuation of these micropollutants is observed during hydrolysis, biodegradation, and photolysis. Comparatively, prominent abatement of these compounds is accomplished using advanced oxidation processes; however, efficient mineralization is still difficult given the formation of recalcitrant products. The in silico prediction on the multi-endpoint toxicity and biodegradability of different products is systematically performed. Most of the transformation products are estimated with acute and chronic aquatic toxicity, genotoxicity, and developmental toxicity. Furthermore, the overall reaction mechanisms of these contaminants induced by multiple oxidizing species are revealed. Overall, this review unveils the non-overlooked and serious secondary risks and biodegradability recalcitrance of the degradation products of chloramphenicol antibiotics using a combined experimental and theoretical method. Strategic improvements of current treatment technologies are strongly recommended for complete water decontamination.

Emerging periodate-based oxidation technologies for water decontamination: A state-of-the-art mechanistic review and future perspectives

With the ever-increasing severity of the ongoing water crisis, it is of great significance to develop efficient, eco-friendly water treatment technologies. As an emerging oxidant in the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), periodate (PI) has received worldwide attention owing to the advantages of superior stability, susceptible activation capability, and high efficiency for decontamination. This is the first review that conducts a comprehensive analysis of the mechanism, pollutant transformation pathway, toxicity evolution, barriers, and future directions of PI-based AOPs based on the scientific information and experimental data reported in recent years. The pollutant elimination in PI-based AOPs was mainly attributed to the in situ generate reactive oxygen species (e.g., ^•OH, O(³P), ¹O₂, and O₂^•-), reactive iodine species (e.g., IO₃^• and IO₄^•), and high-valent metal-oxo species with exceptionally high reactivity. These reactive species were derived from the PI activated by the external energy, metal activators, alkaline, freezing, hydroxylamine, H₂O_2, etc. It is noteworthy that direct electron transport could also dominate the decontamination in carbon-based catalyst/PI systems. Furthermore, PI was transformed to iodate (IO₃^-) stoichiometrically via an oxygen-atom transfer process in most PI-based AOPs systems. However, the production of I₂, I^-, and HOI was sometimes inevitable. Furthermore, the transformation pathway of typical micropollutants was clarified, and the in silico QSAR-based prediction results indicated that most transformation products retained biodegradation recalcitrance and multi-endpoint toxicity. The barriers faced by the PI-based AOPs were also clarified with potential solutions. Finally, future perspectives and research directions are highlighted based on the current state of PI-based AOPs. This review enhances our in-depth understanding of PI-based AOPs for pollutant elimination and identifies future research needs to focus on the reduction of toxic byproducts.

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of nano-silica/copper plasmon by aminofunctional silane for dye pollutant degradation

The synthesis of silica gel nanostructures and loading it with copper specie via a hydrothermal process were performed. The sample is treated with an amino-functional reagent 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES). The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), TGA/DSC measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photocatalytic activities of the nanostructures were studied for degradation of methylene blue dye (as a classic dye contaminant) in aqueous solution utilizing visible light source. The results displayed that the sample treated with APTES is much more effective in photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. This modified catalyst could eliminate methylene blue dye (50 mL, 18 µg mL^-1) within 60 min under visible light. The degradation efficiency was increased by shortening the degradation time to 30 min in the alkaline medium. The pseudo-first-order model well describes the kinetics of the reaction.

Chlorination of methotrexate in water revisited: Deciphering the kinetics, novel reaction mechanisms, and unexpected microbial risks

Chlorination of a typical anticancer drug with annually ascending use and global prevalence (methotrexate, MTX) in water has been studied. In addition to the analysis of kinetics in different water/wastewater matrices, high-resolution product identification and in-depth secondary risk evaluation, which were eagerly urged in the literature, were performed. It was found that the oxidation of MTX by free available chlorine (FAC) followed first-order kinetics with respect to FAC and first-order kinetics with respect to MTX. The pH-dependent rate constants (k_app) ranged from 170.00 M^-1 s^-1 (pH 5.0) to 2.68 M^-1 s^-1 (pH 9.0). The moiety-specific kinetic analysis suggested that 6 model substructures of MTX exhibited similar reactivity to the parent compound at pH 7.0. The presence of Br^- greatly promoted MTX chlorination at pH 5.0-9.0, which may be ascribed to the formation of bromine with higher reactivity than FAC. Comparatively, coexisting I^- or humic acid inhibited the degradation of MTX by FAC. Notably, chlorination effectively abated MTX in different real water matrices. The liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry analysis of multiple matrix-mediated chlorinated samples indicated the generation of nine transformation products (TPs) of MTX, among which seven were identified during FAC oxidation for the first time. In addition to the reported electrophilic chlorination of MTX (the major and dominant reaction pathway), the initial attacks on the amide and tertiary amine moieties with C-N bond cleavage constitute novel reaction mechanisms. No genotoxicity was observed for MTX or chlorinated solutions thereof, whereas some TPs were estimated to show multi-endpoint aquatic toxicity and higher biodegradation recalcitrance than MTX. The chlorinated mixtures of MTX with or without Br^- showed a significant ability to increase the conjugative transfer frequency of plasmid-carried antibiotic resistance genes within bacteria. Overall, this work thoroughly examines the reaction kinetics together with the matrix effects, transformation mechanisms, and secondary environmental risks of MTX chlorination.

A Comparative Study on the Oxidation Mechanisms of Substituted Phenolic Pollutants by Ferrate(VI) through Experiments and Density Functional Theory Calculations

In this work, the oxidation of five phenolic contaminants by ferrate(VI) was comparatively investigated to explore the possible reaction mechanisms by combined experimental results and theoretical calculations. The second-order rate constants were positively correlated with the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital. Considering electronic effects of different substituents, the easy oxidation of phenols by ferrate(VI) could be ranked as the electron-donating group (-R) > weak electron-withdrawing group (-X) > strong electron-withdrawing group (-(C═O)-). The contributions of reactive species (Fe(VI), Fe(V)/(IV), and •OH) were determined, and Fe(VI) was found to dominate the reaction process. Four main reaction mechanisms including single-oxygen transfer (SOT), double-oxygen transfer (DOT), •OH attack, and electron-transfer-mediated coupling reaction were proposed for the ferrate(VI) oxidation process. According to density functional theory calculation results, the presence of -(C═O)- was more conducive for the occurrence of DOT and •OH attack reactions than -R and -X, while the tendency of SOT for different substituents was -R > -(C═O)- > -X and that of e^--transfer reaction was -R > -X > -(C═O)-. Moreover, the DOT pathway was found in the oxidation of all four substituted phenols, indicating that it may be a common reaction mechanism during the ferrate(VI) oxidation of phenolic compounds.

A new perspective to improve the treatment of Lianhuaqingwen on COVID-19 and prevent the environmental health risk of medication

Lianhuaqingwen (LH), one traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been used to treat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but its ecotoxicity with potential human health security has not been well investigated. To overcome such adverse effects and improve its medication efficacy, an intelligent multi-method integrated dietary scheme, screening, and performance evaluation approach was developed. Thirteen LH compounds were selected, and the main protease (Mpro) was used as the potential drug target. Resulted information showed that the more compounds of LH added, the higher medication efficacy obtained using multi-method integrated screening system, expert consultation method, and molecular dynamics simulation. Pharmacodynamic mechanism analysis showed that low total energy and polar surface area of LH active compound (i.e., β-sitosterol) will contribute to the best therapeutic effect on COVID-19 using quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) and sensitivity models. Additionally, when mild COVID-19 patients take LH with the optimum dietary scheme (i.e., β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, carotene, and vitamin E), the medication efficacy were significantly improved (23.58%). Pharmacokinetics and toxicokinetics results showed that LH had certain human health risks and ecotoxicity. This study revealed the multi-compound interaction mechanism of LH treatment on COVID-19, and provided theoretical guidance for improving therapeutic effect, evaluating TCM safety, and preventing human health risk.

Removal of emerging organic micropollutants via modified-reverse osmosis/nanofiltration membranes: A review

Hazardous micropollutants (MPs) such as pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), pesticides and personal care products (PCPs) have emerged as a critical concern nowadays for acquiring clean and safe water resources. In the last few decades, innumerable water treatment methods involving biodegradation, adsorption and advanced oxidation process have been utilized for the removal of MPs. Of these methods, membrane technology has proven to be a promising technique for the removal of MPs due to its sustainability, high efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Herein, the aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive review regarding the MPs rejection mechanisms of reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes after incorporation of nanomaterials and also surface modification atop the PA layer. Size exclusion, adsorption and electrostatic charge interaction mechanisms play important roles in governing the MP removal rate. In addition, this review also discusses the state-of-the-art research on the surface modification of thin film composite (TFC) membrane and nanomaterials-incorporated thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane in enhancing MPs removal performance. It is hoped that this review can provide insights in modifying the physicochemical properties of NF and RO membranes to achieve better performance in water treatment process, particularly for the removal of emerging hazardous substances.

Interaction of peracetic acid with chromium(III): Understanding degradation of coexisting organic pollutants in water

Peracetic acid (PAA, CH₃C(O)OOH) has gained significant attention for its use in wastewater disinfection. Wastewater usually contains both metal ions and organic pollutants and understanding reactions after adding PAA to such contaminated water is needed. This paper presents results regarding the effect of interactions between chromium(III) (Cr(III)) and PAA on the degradation of selected pharmaceuticals, mainly trimethoprim (TMP). The degradation of pharmaceuticals by PAA, PAA-Cr(III), and H₂O₂-Cr(III) under different conditions was examined (pH = 6.0-10.0 and molar ratios of PAA to Cr(III)). The degradation rate of TMP by PAA-Cr(III) was greater than by PAA and H₂O₂-Cr(III) under alkaline conditions. Degradation studies using quenching agents and probing molecules, and spectroscopic measurements (UV-visible and electron paramagnetic resonance) suggest ^•OH as the major radical species and Cr(IV)/Cr(V) as additional reactive species. The oxidized products of TMP by PAA-Cr(III) were identified and possible pathways proposed. Degradation of other pharmaceuticals having different molecular structures by PAA-Cr(III) and H₂O₂-Cr(III) systems were also investigated. Most of the pharmaceuticals degraded at faster rates by PAA-Cr(III) and H₂O₂-Cr(III) than by PAA alone, suggesting that co-present metal ions may play a significant role in PAA oxidation in water treatment.

Theoretical study on the formation of Criegee intermediates from ozonolysis of pentenal: An example of trans-2-pentenal

In this study, we investigated the reaction mechanism and kinetics of ozone with trans-2-pentenal using density functional theory (DFT) and conventional transition state theory (CTST). At 298 K and 1 atm, the gas-phase reaction mechanisms and kinetic parameters were calculated at the level of CCSD(T)/6-311+G(d,p)//M06-2X/6-311+G(d,p). Both CC and CO bond cycloaddition as well as hydrogen abstraction were found. The calculations indicated that the main reaction path is 1,3-dipole cycloaddition reactions of ozone with CC bond with the relatively lower syn-energy-barrier of 3.35 kcal mol^-1 to form primary ozonide which decomposed to produce a carbonyl oxide called a Criegee intermediate (CI) and an aldehyde. The subsequent reactions of CIs were analysed in detail. It is found that the reaction pathways of the novelty CIs containing an aldehyde group are extremely similar with general CIs when they react with NO, NO₂, SO₂, H₂O, CH₂O and O₂. The condensed Fukui function were calculated to identify the active site of the chosen molecules. At 298 K and 1 atm, the reaction rate coefficient was 9.13 × 10^-18 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1 with atmospheric lifetime of 1.3 days. The calculated rate constant is in general agreement with the available experimental data. The branching ratios indicated that syn-addition pathways are prior to anti-addition. The atmospheric ratios for CIs formation and the bimolecular reaction rate constants for the Criegee intermediates with the variety of partners were calculated. Our theoretical results are of importance in atmospheric chemistry of unsaturated aldehyde oxidation by ozone.

Foliar application of SiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles affected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons uptake of Amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.): A metabolomics and typical statistical analysis

Nano-enabled foliar-application could be an ideal strategy for advancing agricultural productivity. However, it remains largely unknown whether they inhibit or promote the uptake of pollutants. Here, we systematically examined how foliar applying SiO₂ nanoparticles (nSiO₂) and ZnO nanoparticles (nZnO) (20 nm, 100 mg·L^-1), influence polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) uptake in 4-week-old amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.). Results showed that foliar application of nSiO₂ or nZnO enhanced amaranth biomass by 20.2-26.4% but decreased PAHs bioaccumulation in leaves by 20.4-54.9% after 7-d incubation. Changes regarding amino acid-related pathways (alanine/aspartate/glutamate metabolism and arginine biosynthesis) and energy maintenance pathways (TCA cycle) were observed in amaranth leaves after foliar application of nSiO₂ and nZnO. Specific PLS-DA analyses with total PAHs uptake as the biological endpoint showed that the contents of PAHs positively correlated with valine (R² = 0.799) and tyrosine (R² = 0.789), but negatively correlated with D-tagatose (R² = 0.805) and L-gulonolactone (R² = 0.877), indicating greater oxidant stress under higher PAHs level. We propose that mechanisms of declined uptake of PAHs involve the biomass-dependent dilute effect and activation of biological response against PAHs accumulation. These findings provide a prospective vision on how nano-enabled foliar-application alleviates PAH-enriched environmental burden while producing higher-yield agricultural products, especially for low toxic and biocompatible nSiO₂.