Removal of chlorpyrifos from aqueous medium using Ca-CuO@clay nanoflakes coated with deep eutectic solvent

Availability of fresh water for domestic, industrial, and agricultural use has become a huge challenge in different parts of the world due to continuous contamination. The leaching of different pesticides in agricultural lands is one of the major sources of water contamination that needs to be monitored and countered. The current study was designed to synthesize specific material for the removal of pesticides from aqueous medium. Facile two-step synthesis of Ca-CuO bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) with kaolinite core (Ca-CuO@clay) was achieved via the co-precipitation method. These NPs were then coated with deep eutectic solvent (DES) and characterization of coated and non-coated NPs was done by SEM, EDX, XRD method, and FTIR analytical techniques. These analyses confirmed the formation of Ca-CuO@clay NPs and coated NPs were found having dual layer structure; an inner layer composed of Ca-CuO@clay nanoparticles, and an outer layer of DES. Both the coated and non-coated nanoparticles were tested for pesticide removal potential and degradation of the pesticide was confirmed by GCMS analysis. Degradation of Chlorpyrifos up to 62% and 89% was achieved using the coated and non-coated nanoparticles respectively. The results revealed that coating of nanomaterial with DES will be helpful in controlling the surface properties, shelf-life, and stability of the NPs that will surely modify their efficiency for different applications. The authors suggest that Ca-CuO@clay NPs can be an excellent choice towards improving wastewater treatment technologies for the removal of pesticides from water medium.