Imidazolinone herbicides in strongly acidic media: Speciation and electroreduction

From UV-visible measurements and potentiometric titrations it follows that the lowest pK values (pK₁) of imidazolinone herbicides correspond to the simultaneous protonation/dissociation equilibria of both the pyridinic (or quinolinic) nitrogen and the carboxyl group, the following pK (pK₂) to the imminium nitrogen and the basic pK (pK₃) to the dissociation of the imido nitrogen. Below pH 6 and down to pH c.a. 2.5, the dominant form of the herbicide is a double ion having both positive and negative charges, this being important in discussing the effect of pH in the natural dynamics of imidazolinone herbicides, especially in their soil sorption. Electrochemical studies of the reduction of the herbicides were made on mercury and carbon electrodes in strongly acidic media (0.1 to 2.7 M H₂SO₄) as well up to pH 7. The reduction signals were all attributed to the reduction of the imidazolinone ring except the second peak/wave that was found to have originated by the reduction of the pyridine/quinoline ring. A signal observed in strongly acidic media and at highly negative overpotentials was attributed to the reduction of the imidazolinone ring of the product of the previous reduction in a process consisting of two reversible electron transfers followed by a protonation reaction.     

Development of an Ion-Pairing Liquid Chromatography Method for the Determination of Phenoxyacetic Herbicides and Their Main Metabolites: Application to the Analysis of Soil Samples

A modified ion-pairing liquid chromatography method is developed for the analysis of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) and their phenolic metabolites in water and soil samples. The separation and determination of all compounds of interest can be performed with a mobile phase containing 30% acetonitrile and 10 mM tetrabutylammonium hydroxide as the ion-pairing reagent. Separation of the two phenoxyacids is strongly affected by the pH of the mobile phase, which has to be buffered to pH 7.2 with phosphoric acid. The increase in the hydrophobicity of the sample solvent results in wider peaks for the two phenoxyacids, which reduces the resolution in their separation. The evaluation of different methanol:water solvent mixtures shows that no baseline separation for the two phenoxyacids is obtained when the methanol content in the mixture is higher than 60%.     

Separation and concentration of sulfonylurea herbicides in milk by ionic‐liquid‐based foam flotation solid‐phase extraction

The ultrasound‐assisted ionic liquid foam flotation solid‐phase extraction of sulfonylurea herbicides in milk was developed and validated. The proteins and lipids were isolated from the sample matrix by adding salt and adjusting the pH value. The target analytes eluted from the solid‐phase extraction cartridge were determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Some experimental parameters, including the pH value of sample solution, amount of NaCl, ionic liquid type, extraction time, flow rate of carrier gas, flotation time, and solid‐phase extraction cartridge type were investigated and optimized. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the limits of detection for metsulfuron, pyrazosulfuron, chlorimuron‐ethyl, and nicosulfuron were 1.3, 0.6, 0.7, and 1.1 μg/L, respectively. When the present method was applied to the analysis of milk samples the recoveries of the analytes ranged from 84.3 to 105.2% and relative standard deviations were >5.7%.     

Low‐dimensional coordination polymeric structures in alkali metal complex salts of the herbicide (2,4‐dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4‐D)

The Li, Rb and Cs complexes with the herbicide (2,4‐dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4‐D), namely poly[[aqua[μ₃‐(2,4‐dichlorophenoxy)acetato‐κ³O¹:O¹:O^1′]lithium(I)] dihydrate], {[Li(C₈H₅Cl₂O₃)(H₂O)]·2H₂O}_n, (I), poly[μ‐aqua‐bis[μ₃‐(2,4‐dichlorophenoxy)acetato‐κ⁴O¹:O^1′:O^1′,Cl²]dirubidium(I)], [Rb₂(C₈H₅Cl₂O₃)₂(H₂O)]_n, (II), and poly[μ‐aqua‐bis[μ₃‐(2,4‐dichlorophenoxy)acetato‐κ⁵O¹:O^1′:O^1′,O²,Cl²]dicaesium(I)], [Cs₂(C₈H₅Cl₂O₃)₂(H₂O)]_n, (III), respectively, have been determined and their two‐dimensional polymeric structures are described. In (I), the slightly distorted tetrahedral LiO₄ coordination involves three carboxylate O‐atom donors, of which two are bridging, and a monodentate aqua ligand, together with two water molecules of solvation. Conjoined six‐membered ring systems generate a one‐dimensional coordination polymeric chain which extends along b and interspecies water O—H...O hydrogen‐bonding interactions give the overall two‐dimensional layers which lie parallel to (001). In hemihydrate complex (II), the irregular octahedral RbO₅Cl coordination about Rb⁺ comprises a single bridging water molecule which lies on a twofold rotation axis, a bidentate O_carboxy,Cl‐chelate interaction and three bridging carboxylate O‐atom bonding interactions from the 2,4‐D ligand. A two‐dimensional coordination polymeric layer structure lying parallel to (100) is formed through a number of conjoined cyclic bridges, including a centrosymmetric four‐membered Rb₂O₂ ring system with an Rb...Rb separation of 4.3312 (5) Å. The coordinated water molecule forms intralayer aqua–carboxylate O—H...O hydrogen bonds. Complex (III) comprises two crystallographically independent (Z′ = 2) irregular CsO₆Cl coordination centres, each comprising two O‐atom donors (carboxylate and phenoxy) and a ring‐substituted Cl‐atom donor from the 2,4‐D ligand species in a tridentate chelate mode, two O‐atom donors from bridging carboxylate groups and one from a bridging water molecule. However, the two 2,4‐D ligands are conformationally very dissimilar, with one phenoxyacetate side chain being synclinal and the other being antiperiplanar. The minimum Cs...Cs separation is 4.4463 (5) Å. Structure extension gives coordination polymeric layers which lie parallel to (001) and are stabilized by intralayer water–carboxylate O—H...O hydrogen bonds.     

Preparation of novel ionic‐liquid‐modified magnetic nanoparticles by a microwave‐assisted method for sulfonylurea herbicides extraction

Ionic liquids immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by an efficient microwave‐assisted synthesis method, and the properties of the ionic liquids were tuned based on the aromatic functional modification of its anion through a simple metathesis reaction. The novel as‐synthesized magnetic materials were characterized by various instrumental techniques. The magnetic nanoparticles have been utilized as adsorbents for the extraction of four sulfonylurea herbicides in tea samples, in combination with high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis. Significant extraction parameters, including type and volume of desorption solvent, extraction time, amount of adsorbent, and ionic strength were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, good linearity was obtained in the concentration range of 1–150 μg/L for metsulfuron‐methyl and bensulfuron‐methyl, and 3–150 μg/L for sulfometuron‐methyl and chlorimuron‐ethyl, with correlation coefficients R² > 0.9987. Low limits of detection were obtained ranging from 0.13 to 0.81 μg/L. The relative standard deviations were 1.8–3.9%. Comparisons of extraction efficiency with conventional solid‐phase extraction equipped with a commercial C₁₈ cartridge were performed. Results indicated that magnetic solid‐phase extraction is simple, time‐saving, efficient and inexpensive with the reusability of adsorbents. The proposed method has been successfully used to determine sulfonylurea herbicides from tea samples with satisfactory recoveries of 80.5–104.2%.     

气相色谱-串联质谱检测烟草中15种苯氧羧酸类除草剂残留

建立了气相色谱-串联质谱技术对烟草中15种苯氧羧酸类除草剂农药残留量的分析方法。样品采用乙腈提取、Carbon TPT固相萃取柱净化、三甲基硅烷化重氮甲烷衍生化,采用气相色谱-串联质谱对15种苯氧羧酸类除草剂进行测定,通过保留时间、选择离子及相对丰度定性,外标法定量。结果表明,15种苯氧羧酸类除草剂在20~1 000μg/L浓度范围内均呈良好线性关系,相关系数大于0.992,检出限为0.9~3.3μg/kg,定量下限为3.2~10.8μg/kg。在20,100,200μg/kg 3个加标水平下的平均回收率为71.5%~105.6%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为4.5%~14.9%。该方法简便、快速、灵敏,适用于烟草中15种苯氧羧酸类除草剂的同时检测。     

磺酰脲类除草剂分子印迹聚合物制备及应用研究进展

磺酰脲类除草剂本身易降解,在环境和生物样品中痕量存在,其残留分析工作颇具挑战。分子印迹聚合物因其良好的选择性和稳定性已被广泛应用于农药残留分析的分离与富集前处理过程,提高了检测的准确度和精密度。本文从单体、溶剂与致孔剂、聚合方法三个方面概述了近15年来磺酰脲类分子印迹聚合物的制备,并对其在残留检测中的应用方式进行了综述,为磺酰脲类除草剂残留检测技术的进一步开发提供了参考。     

Determination of triazine herbicides in juice samples by microwave‐assisted ionic liquid/ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography

A novel microextraction method, termed microwave‐assisted ionic liquid/ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction, has been developed for the rapid enrichment and analysis of triazine herbicides in fruit juice samples by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Instead of using hazardous organic solvents, two kinds of ionic liquids, a hydrophobic ionic liquid (1‐hexyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) and a hydrophilic ionic liquid (1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate), were used as the extraction solvent and dispersion agent, respectively, in this method. The extraction procedure was induced by the formation of cloudy solution, which was composed of fine drops of 1‐hexyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate dispersed entirely into sample solution with the help of 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. In addition, an ion‐pairing agent (NH₄PF₆) was introduced to improve recoveries of the ionic liquid phase. Several experimental parameters that might affect the extraction efficiency were investigated. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the linearity for determining the analytes was in the range of 5.00–250.00 μg/L, with the correlation coefficients of 0.9982–0.9997. The practical application of this effective and green method is demonstrated by the successful analysis of triazine herbicides in four juice samples, with satisfactory recoveries (76.7–105.7%) and relative standard deviations (lower than 6.6%). In general, this method is fast, effective, and robust to determine triazine herbicides in juice samples.     

Facile preparation of a polydopamine‐based monolith for multiple monolithic fiber solid‐phase microextraction of triazine herbicides in environmental water samples

A new multiple monolithic fiber solid‐phase microextraction using a polydopamine‐based monolith as the extraction medium is proposed. The monolith was synthesized by facile in situ copolymerization of N‐methacryldopamine and dual cross‐linkers (divinylbenzene/ethylenedimethacrylate) in the presence of N ,N‐dimethylformamide. The effect of the contents of N‐methacryldopamine and porogen in the polymerization mixture on the extraction performance was investigated thoroughly. A series of characterization studies was performed to validate the structure and properties of the monolith. The prepared multiple monolithic fibers were used for the extraction of triazine herbicides in environmental water samples. After the optimization of the extraction parameters, a convenient, sensitive, cost‐effective, and environmentally friendly method for the determination of trace triazine herbicides in water samples was developed by coupling multiple monolithic fibers solid‐phase microextraction with high‐performance liquid chromatography and diode array detection. The results indicated that the limits of detection and quantification for the target compounds were 0.031–0.14 and 0.10–0.45 μg/L, respectively. Good precision and reproducibility were obtained with the relative standard deviations below 10%. The developed method was applied to the analysis of the triazine herbicides in different water samples (lake, river, and farmland waters). The recoveries of the method were in the range between 79.6 and 117%.     

Simultaneous determination of simazine,cyanazine, and atrazine in honey samples by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with high‐performance liquid chromatography

A rapid and simple sample preparation method was developed for simultaneous determination of three triazine herbicides in honey samples. The selected herbicides were extracted from honey samples by ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction, separated on a C₁₈ column (250 mm × 4.6 mm id, 5 μm) using acetonitrile and H₂O as the mobile phase with gradient elution, and then detected by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The parameters, such as the type and volume of the extraction and disperser solvent, ion strength, pH, extraction time, and centrifuge time were optimized in order to provide the excellent extraction performance. Good linearity was showed for all the target herbicides over the tested concentration range with correlation coefficient higher than 0.994. Three spiked levels (0.005, 0.05, 0.10 mg/kg) were applied for determination of the recoveries of the targets in honey samples in the range of 80–103% with relative standard deviations not larger than 10.6%. The limits of quantification for the analytes ranged between 1.5 and 4.0 μg/kg. The developed method was applied for determination of the target compounds residues in real samples.