Highly efficient sonodestruction of toxic organophosphorous pesticides using novel NaA zeolite/ZnFe₂O₄/SnO₂ nanocomposite catalyst from water solutions

The sonocatalytic pesticide destruction is one of the efficient methodologies to eradicate the effluents generated via agricultural industries. Herein, the novel NaA-type zeolite/ZnFe₂O₄/SnO₂ as a magnetically retrievable nanocomposite catalyst was successfully synthesized and applied for the sonodestruction of the chlorpyrifos (CP), malathion (MT), methyl parathion (MPT), methyl paraoxon (MPO), fenitrothion (FNT), and diazinon (DZ) as hazardous organophosphorous pesticides (OPPs) from water solutions. The NaA/ZnFe₂O₄/SnO₂ nanocomposite was precisely identified via the FESEM, AFM, EDAX, EDAX elemental dot mappings, FTIR, XRD, VSM, BET, UV–Vis DRS, XPS, and ICP-AES methods. To investigate the sonocatalytic performance of the NaA/ZnFe₂O₄/SnO₂, the main key factors, like irradiation time, initial pesticide concentration, sonocatalyst amount, H₂O₂ concentration, and ultrasound (US) power intensity were surveyed. The maximum sonocatalytic yields of 100%, 100%, 98.32%, 96.87%, 95.91%, and 95% were gained for CP, MT, MPO, MPT, FNT, and DZ on the NaA/ZnFe₂O₄/SnO₂ in the presence of the US/H₂O₂ system, respectively. The sonocatalytic destruction process of CPS was assessed through the first-order kinetic model. On the basis of the obtained results, the half-life time (t_1/2) and reaction rate constant (k_app) of the CPS destruction via the NaA/ZnFe₂O₄/SnO₂/US/H₂O₂ system were calculated to be 3.96 min and 0.1748 min⁻¹, respectively. The hydroxyl radicals (^•OHs) were distinguished as the crucial reactive oxidative species on the destruction of CP under US irradiation. As well, the reproducibility and stability of the as-synthesized NaA/ZnFe₂O₄/SnO₂ sonocatalyst were investigated in four sequential runs, and a loss of less than 6% was obtained in the sonodestruction yield.