Sulfonylurea herbicide (SUH) is one of the most used herbicides due to its high efficacy and low mammalian toxicity. However, some SUHs have been re-evaluated in applications with the concerns of long-term residual activity, negative impact on microbial communities and high phytotoxicity to non-target crops. Recently, researchers from the Institute of Tobacco Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, have published a research paper entitled “Single platinum atoms anchored on holy carbon nitride for efficient photodegradation of sulfonylurea herbicide” in Chemical Engineering Journal to introduce more efficient and adaptable strategies for SUHs degradation.

In this study, single platinum atoms anchored holy carbon nitride nanosheets (PtSA-HCNNS) were fabricated via a facile approach and for the first time applied PtSA-HCNNS for photodegradation of SUHs. Molecule-level characterization and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated the promoting effect of isolated Pt atom in optimisation of band structures, creation of surface polarised regions, and facilitating charge separation in graphitic carbon nitride. The formation of Pt–N4 coordination was highly favourable for oxygen absorption and generation of reactive oxygen species (h+＞•OH＞O2•-). In addition, the degradation products/pathways and toxicity to aquatic organisms and phytotoxicity to soybean seedlings were analysed and evaluated. The hazardous effects of SUHs and intermediates were greatly reduced after photo-treatment with PtSA-HCNNS. This study shed light on new applications of PtSA-HCNNS for environmental purification.

The research was carried out jointly with researchers at Jiangsu University and The University of Adelaide. The research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31901921), the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Non-profit Scientific Institution (1610232022005) and the Science Foundation for Young Scholars of Tobacco Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (2019A01).

Original link:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S138589472202914X

By Liu Xue (liuxue01@caas.cn)