Impact of Unadorned Carbon Nitride on Photodegradation and Bioavailability of Multifungicides in the Environment.

Unadorned carbon nitride was synthesized via different nitrogen-rich precursors by thermal polymerization and applied to multifungicides for simultaneous photodegradation in the present study. Urea-derived carbon nitride (UCN) was verified to be most efficient in fungicide removal. The influences of catalyst dosage and pH were studied during the photodegradation process. Hydroxyl radical (OH) and holes (h) are the active species during photodegradation of each of the eight fungicides within an aqueous environment. The primary photodegradation products and pathways of all eight fungicides were systematically identified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. In addition, the UCN catalyst was also applied to potted plants. The experimental results revealed that UCN could reduce fungicide residues in plants grown within a contaminated matrix. This study shows promising applications of the UCN catalyst in alleviating the hazards of pesticide residue.