Removal of ethylene bisdithiocarbamate fungicides in wastewater and agricultural runoff by zinc oxide nanoparticles before analysis by HPLC and UV-Vis spectroscopy

This study developed an applied method based on the degradation to remove ethylene bisdithiocarbamate (EBDC) fungicides from was‌tewater and agricultural runoff by zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs). The synthesized ZnONPs were characterized using XRD for material crystallinity, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and particle size analysis (PSA) for surface s‌tructure, morphology and particle size (nm), respectively. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) spectra confirmed the presence of zinc and showed that the synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles were pure. Determination of the adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of Mancozeb (MCZ) fungicides based on ZnONPs was performed. Different amounts of ZnONPs were loaded into an MCZ fungicide solution in different concentrations. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and UV-Vis spectroscopy were used to determine the dithiocarbamate residue and the degradation efficiency of the synthesized particles. The particle size dis‌tribution of the synthesized ZnONPs was found to be in the range of 50-95 nm. At optimum conditions, with a ZnONPs dosage of 10 mg, (MCZ) fungicide concentrationof9.37mgL-1, andadurationof60minutes,the degradation efficiency was surpassed at more than 95%. Additionally, the nanoparticles demons‌trated excellent reusability and maintained efficient activity for up to three cycles. It is crucial and significant to keep on exploring the intrinsic capabilities of abundant metal oxides like zinc oxide nanoparticles for environmental remediation and other applications.