Electrochemical Reduction of Pyridinic Herbicides Picloram and Clopyralid on a Mercury Pool Electrode

This paper presents the identification by GC/MS of the products obtained after the total reduction of picloram and clopyralid on a mercury pool electrode. The products found in the strongly acidic media reduction of picloram are 4‐amino‐3,5,6‐trichloro‐2‐pyridinecarboxaldehyde, 4‐amino‐3,5,6‐trichloro‐2‐pyridinecarbinol and 4‐amino‐3,5‐dichloro‐2‐pyridinecarboxylic acid; at pH 3–4 the first compound is substituted by 4‐amino‐3,5‐dichloro‐2‐pyridinecarboxaldehyde. For clopyralid 3,6‐dichloro‐2‐pyridinecarbinol was detected. Under the light of such products the overall reduction processes are discussed showing the partial reductive cleavage of chlorine atoms in both cases.     

Determination of picloram in natural waters employing sequential injection square wave voltammetry using the hanging mercury drop electrode

This paper describes the development of a sequential injection analysis method to automate the determination of picloram by square wave voltammetry exploiting the concept of monosegmented flow analysis to perform in-line sample conditioning and standard addition. To perform these tasks, an 800 μL monosegment is formed, composed by 400 μL of sample and 400 μL of conditioning/standard solution, in medium of 0.10 mol L⁻¹ H₂SO₄. Homogenization of the monosegment is achieved by three flow reversals. After homogenization the mixture zone is injected toward the flow cell, which is adapted to the capillary of a hanging drop mercury electrode, at a flow rate of 50 μL s⁻¹. After a suitable delay time, the potential is scanned from −0.5 to −1.0 V versus Ag/AgCl at frequency of 300 Hz and pulse height of 25 mV. The linear dynamic range is observed for picloram concentrations between 0.10 and 2.50 mg L⁻¹ fitting to the linear equation I_p = (−2.19 ± 0.03)C_picloram + (0.096 ± 0.039), with R² = 0.9996, for which the slope is given in μA L mg⁻¹. The detection and quantification limits are 0.036 and 0.12 mg L⁻¹, respectively. The sampling frequency is 37 h⁻¹ when the standard addition protocol is followed, but can be increased to 41 h⁻¹ if the protocol to obtain in-line external calibration curve is used for quantification. The method was applied for determination of picloram in spiked water samples and the accuracy was evaluated by comparison with high performance liquid chromatography using molecular absorption at 220 nm for detection. No evidences of statistically significant differences between the two methods were observed.     

Simultaneous determination of three chloroacetic acids,three herbicides,and 12 anions in water by ion chromatography

An ion chromatography method was developed for the simultaneous detection of three soluble herbicides (glyphosate, bentazone and picloram), three chlorine disinfection byproducts (monochloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid and trichloroacetic acid) and 12 anions in water (Cl^–, Br^–, SO₄^2–, CO₃^2–, ClO₃^–, ClO₄^–, BrO₃^–, PO₄^3–, NO₂^–, NO₃^–, CH₃COO^– and COO^–). High linearity (r² > 0.996) was observed for all target analytes for each respective concentration range. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation were between 0.21–0.85 and 0.06–25.46 μg/L, respectively. However, the interference effect of Cl^–, NO₃^–, SO₄^2– and CO₃^2– on some target analytes must be considered during the analysis. Sample pre‐treatment by a hydrogen column (H‐column) required to reduce the negative effect of CO₃^2–. Additionally, sample pre‐treatment by a sliver–hydrogen column (Ag–H‐column) is required when Cl^– > 100 mg/L and SO₄^2– < 50 mg/L, and pre‐treatment by both a barium column (Ba‐column) and an H‐column is required when Cl^– > 100 mg/L and SO₄^2– > 50 mg/L. When Cl^– > 100 mg/L, SO₄^2– > 50 mg/L and CO₃^2– > 20 mg/L, the sample pre‐treatment by either an Ag–H–Ba‐column or an Ag–H‐column and Ba‐column is required to minimize interference.     

Sensitive electrochemical detection of picloram utilising a multi-walled carbon nanotube/Cr-based metal-organic framework composite-modified glassy carbon electrode

This study describes the utilisation of a glassy carbon electrode modified with a composite of multi-walled carbon nanotube and Cr-based metal-organic framework (MIL-101, Cr-BDC, BDC = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) for the sensitive, simple and fast voltammetric determination of picloram in environmental samples. Under optimum conditions, additions of picloram using square wave voltammetry showed linear ranges of picloram concentrations from 24.15 to 3018 µg?L^?1 (0.1–12.5 μM) and from 3018 to 9658 µg?L^?1 (12.5–40 μM) with a detection limit of 14.49 µg?L^?1 (0.06 µM). The method was successfully applied to the determination of picloram in tap and river water samples spiked with picloram without any purification step by the standard addition method. The good recovery values obtained ranging from 97.5% to 105.0% revealed the reliability and accuracy of the method.     

On the Adsorption and Reduction of the Herbicide Picloram on Mercury and Carbon Electrodes

At concentrations higher than 2?10^?4 M , and below pH 3, the cyclic voltammograms of picloram (=4‐amino‐3,5,6‐trichloropyridine‐2‐carboxylic acid) on Hg electrodes show two prepeak systems (named I and II attending to the proximity to the main reductions peak), which can be attributed to the weak adsorption of reactant and the strong adsorption of the product at the electrode surface. The system II is due to the uncharged form of picloram, and system I to the picloram protonated at the pyridine N‐atom. Small amounts of the surfactant Triton X‐100 (=α‐[4‐(1,1,3,3‐tetramethylbutyl)phenyl]‐ω‐hydroxypoly(oxyethane‐1,2‐diyl)) cause the disappearance of system I, the shift of system II, and also affect the intensities and widths of anodic and cathodic peaks but not the charge passed in each peak. Thus, the adsorption process responsible for the appearance of system I is inhibited by the presence of Triton; by contrast, the process corresponding to system II is only modified by the surfactant, becoming an electrochemical process occurring at the potentials corresponding to system II, which is more reversible than that observed in the absence of Triton. The addition of Triton permitted the analysis of the main reduction process. Convolution voltammetry of the main reduction peak is consistent with the loss of a Cl‐atom in equilibrium which occurs after a reversible electron transfer and is followed by the reductions of both species present in the equilibrium (Scheme 2). This is also the reduction mechanism on a glassy carbon electrode but the electron transfer on the carbon electrode increases with respect to the mercury electrodes; in addition, the loss of the Cl‐atom does not take place on the electrode surface. From the recording of differential capacity–potential curves, it was concluded that picloram is adsorbed on the carbon electrode; but this adsorption is too weak to induce the appearance of prepeak systems.     

A toxicity view of the pesticide picloram when immobilized onto a silica gel surface

The pesticide picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid) was anchored onto silica gel to yield a new surface. Isothermal microcalorimetry was applied to study the toxic effects caused to microbial activity of a typical Brazilian agricultural soil by application of free and immobilized picloram. The activity of the microorganisms in 1.50 g of soil sample was stimulated by addition of 6.0 mg of glucose plus 6.0 mg of ammonium sulfate under 34.8% controlled humidity at 298.15±0.02 K. The activity was recorded through power–time curves for increasing amounts of the active principle, varying from zero to 10.00 g g^–1. The increasing amounts of picloram, either free or immobilized, caused a decrease of the original thermal effect. The calorimetric data showed that the anchored pesticide presented a much lower toxic effect than the free picloram on the microbial activity.     

Highly sensitive fluorescence quantification of picloram using immunorecognition liposome

Picloram is a widely used chlorinated herbicide, which is quite persistent and mobile in soil and water with adverse health and environmental risks. A simple and efficient method with high sensitivity and good selectivity was developed in this work to analyze picloram. The aldehyde group functionalized quartz glass plate was used to catch picloram by Schiff base reaction, and reacted with the liposomes-labeled antibody. The fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) solution was encapsulated in the liposomes. After being released from the liposomes, the fluorescence of FITC was measured by a fluorimeter. It was found that the fluorescence intensity is linearly correlated to the logarithm of picloram concentration, ranging from 1.0 × 10⁻⁴ to 100 ng mL⁻¹, with a detection limit of 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ ng mL⁻¹. Picloram concentration in real wastewater samples were accurately measured by the proposed method and HPLC, the results of the two methods were approximately the same. The proposed method showed high sensitivity and good selectivity, and could be an efficient tool for picloram quantitative analysis.