Potential Applications of Chitosan-Coated Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles for Degrading Pesticide Residues in Environmental Soils

Abstract

The precipitation process was applied to synthesize chitosan-coated zinc oxide nanoparticles (chitosan-ZnO NPs). Then, various characterization tools were used such as XDR, SEM, TEM, FTIR, and EDX. The use of these 50 nm chitosan-ZnO NPs in soil decontamination of thifluzamide and difenoconazole pesticide residues is being investigated. In two distinct soils, the effect of catalytic decontamination on pesticide residues was examined (sandy loam and sandy clay soils). The studies required two sets of pesticide concentrations. One set of samples was added to the chitosan-ZnO NPs catalyst, and the other set was studied without the addition of a catalyst. Photocatalytic studies were conducted under the sunlight in July. The soil samples were hand-spread in a glass dish to a height of 5 mm and sprayed with an aqueous solution of pesticide. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., these samples were exposed to sunlight in October 2021. We found that the best concentration of catalyst was 0.05%. The acquired samples were quantified using validated Ultra-Fast Liquid Chromatography (UFLC) with Photo Diode Array (PDA) detection. Kinetic parameters such as rate constant k and the degradation rate of pesticides DT50 have been calculated using Pesticide Residue Dissipation Data. The findings showed that the tested fungicides degenerate according to pseudo-first-order kinetics. Based on the findings, we concluded that photocatalytic degradation of pesticides in soils are faster than photolysis.