Oxidation of solid thin films of neonicotinoid pesticides by gas phase hydroxyl radicals

Abstract

Neonicotinoids (NNs) are commonly found throughout the environment on surfaces such as seeds, soil, vegetation, and blowing dust particles. However, there is a paucity of data on the kinetics and oxidation products formed on contact with the atmosphere which limits understanding of their potentially far-reaching impacts. In this study, in situ attenuated total reflectance (ATR) FTIR spectroscopy was used to investigate the OH oxidation of thin films of three solid NNs, imidacloprid (IMD), dinotefuran (DNF) and clothianidin (CLD) at 295 ± 3 K. The experimentally measured reaction probabilities based on initial rates of NN loss are (1.6 ± 0.8) × 10⁻² for IMD, (1.5 ± 0.6) × 10⁻² for DNF and (0.9 ± 0.2) × 10⁻² for CLD (±1σ), suggesting initial NN lifetimes with respect to OH of 10–17 days. The kinetics were interpreted using a multiphase kinetics model, KM-SUB, which showed that the OH uptake and reaction occurred primarily in the surface layer. Products identified by mass spectrometry included carbonyl-, alcohol- and olefin-containing species formed via hydrogen abstraction from aliphatic C–H groups. Additionally, carbonyl-containing desnitro and urea derivative products were observed from secondary reactions of the initially formed photodegradation products. Reaction with OH will contribute to NN loss both during the day as well as at night when there are non-photolytic sources of this radical. Thus, OH reactions with both the parent neonicotinoid and its photodegradation products should be considered in assessing their environmental impacts.