article · ChemistrySelect
Organophosphate and organochlorine pesticides protect food security but cause substantial pollution when they enter aquatic systems. Photocatalytic degradation using biogenic nanoparticles offers a sustainable method to mineralise these contaminants into harmless molecules. An analysis of reported findings indicates that these biologically synthesised nanomaterials can achieve degradation efficiencies exceeding 80 percent, with reaction times reaching under five minutes. Plants account for 80 percent of the biological entities used to synthesise these nanoparticles. Oxygenated functional groups derived from the biological sources enhance the activity of dominant hydroxyl and superoxide radicals during treatment. The breakdown process aligns with pseudo-first-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models, indicating monolayer physisorption at the nanoparticle surface. In addition, these catalysts demonstrate operational durability, sustaining over 80 percent degradation efficiency across approximately five cycles and remaining reusable for up to eight cycles.
Pesticide runoff threatens aquatic ecosystems and global water security. Traditional water treatment methods can be resource-intensive and generate secondary waste. Utilising plant-derived nanoparticles to break down persistent agricultural chemicals offers an eco-friendly and fast alternative. Evidence that these materials remain effective over repeated cycles supports the development of more circular and sustainable wastewater management solutions.
This approach could enable new water purification solutions for municipal and agricultural wastewater management facilities seeking to remove persistent organochlorines and organophosphates. The materials offer high degradation speeds and reusability over eight cycles. However, as the findings stem from a review of laboratory data rather than pilot demonstrations, the technology is at an early research stage and requires validation under real-world operational conditions.
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Abstract The use of efficacious and cost‐effective pesticides (OP and OC) has undoubtedly proven to be a blessing and a baron because these pesticides are safeguarding the world from food insecurity. Unfortunately, their presence in aquatic bodies brings about an upsurge in water pollution. Amazingly, the photocatalytic degradation approach utilizing biogenic nanoparticles (BNPs) is a trendy state‐of‐the‐art approach and has been established to be a sustainable methodology for the complete mineralization of contaminants into harmless molecules. Thus, this work holistically explores the use of BNPs for photocatalytic degradation of OP and OC. Based on the review, it was found that the least amount of time needed for degradation was less than 5 minutes, while the maximum degradation efficiency was >80 %. The dominant radicals participating in the degradation are ⋅OH and O 2 ⋅ and this radical dominance was enhanced by the oxygenated functional groups present in the biogenic entities employed for the biosynthesis of BNPs. The photocatalytic degradation data fits the pseudo‐first‐order and Langmuir isotherm models (R 2 > 0.9), which indicates that the main adsorption mechanisms involved during electron‐hole pair formation and photocatalytic degradation are physisorption and monolayer at the surface of the BNPs. BNPs can sustain a >80 % degradation efficiency for approximately 5 cycles and are reusable for up to 8 cycles. It was also revealed that plants constitute 80 % of the engaged biogenic entities for BNP synthesis. Ultimately, this work offers novel avenues and future research hotspots that might accelerate the use of BNPs for sustainable agricultural and wastewater management practices.
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DOI: 10.1002/slct.202304956
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