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Iron-modified biochar enhanced the activation of peracetic acid for removal of imidacloprid: efficiency, active species and catalytic mechanism
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  • Published: 03 April 2026

Iron-modified biochar enhanced the activation of peracetic acid for removal of imidacloprid: efficiency, active species and catalytic mechanism

  • Jinjin He1,
  • Baoyan Wang2,
  • Hongwei Sun1,
  • Yucan Liu2,
  • Gang Wang1,
  • Xiaoyong Yang1 &
  • …
  • Yanxiang Zhang1 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Chemistry
  • Environmental sciences

Abstract

Imidacloprid (IMI) is a highly toxic organic pollutant. Therefore, effective IMI treatment methods must be developed. This study synthesized iron-modified rape straw biochar (Fe-RSB) to activate peracetic acid (PAA) for IMI removal from water. At the optimal concentrations of 0.55 g∙L− 1 for Fe-RSB and 0.25 mM for PAA, the removal of IMI reached 81.6% after 60 min. Additionally, the IMI removal was minimally affected over a broad pH range (3–11). CH3C(O)O· and CH3C(O)OO· played crucial roles in the IMI degradation. The degradation pathway of IMI consisted of three pathways, and the ecological hazards of most intermediates were lower than those of IMI. The effect of Cl⁻ on IMI removal was concentration dependent, 2 mM Cl⁻ showed slight inhibition, while 10 mM Cl⁻ promoted the degradation. In contrast, both HA and HCO3⁻ exhibited inhibitory effects across the tested concentration ranges. After five cycles, the removal of IMI reached 61.9%, indicating the stability of Fe-RSB. Overall, a new Fe-RSB/PAA process is proposed for the degradation of IMI.

Data availability

The data for this study are available upon request and can be obtained by contacting the corresponding author, Zhang Yanxiang, via email at 15092166641@163.com.

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Funding

This work is financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2022QE138).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental and Materials Engineering, Yantai University, Yantai, 264005, China

    Jinjin He, Hongwei Sun, Gang Wang, Xiaoyong Yang & Yanxiang Zhang

  2. School of Civil Engineering, Yantai University, Yantai, 264005, China

    Baoyan Wang & Yucan Liu

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Contributions

Jinjin He : Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing – original draft. Baoyan Wang : Writing – review & editing . Hongwei Sun : Writing – review & editing. Yucan Liu : Writing – review & editing. Gang Wang : Writing – review & editing. Xiaoyong Yang : Writing – review & editing. Yanxiang Zhang : Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing.

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Correspondence to Hongwei Sun or Yanxiang Zhang.

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He, J., Wang, B., Sun, H. et al. Iron-modified biochar enhanced the activation of peracetic acid for removal of imidacloprid: efficiency, active species and catalytic mechanism. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-46438-5

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  • Received: 16 December 2025

  • Accepted: 25 March 2026

  • Published: 03 April 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-46438-5

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Keywords

  • Advanced oxidation processes
  • Imidacloprid
  • Iron-modified biochar
  • Peracetic acid
  • Mechanism
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