Enhanced peroxydisulfate activation by photo-piezocatalysis based on zinc-aluminum layered double hydroxide for imidacloprid removal: Combined radical with nonradical pathways.

[Display omitted] • The ZA/PDS/VL-Pi process showed superior IMI degradation efficiency at 90.6%. • 1O 2 and •OH contributed to the degradation of IMI in the ZA/PDS/VL-Pi process. • The ZA/PDS/VL-Pi process performed the substantial detoxification of IMI. • The ZA/PDS/VL-Pi process exhibited satisfactory anti-environmental interference. The residual imidacloprid (IMI) insecticide in the environment has become a potential risk to ecological safety and human health, encouraging an efficient, sustainable and environment friendly approach for its removal. In this study, zinc-aluminum layered double hydroxide (ZA) is applied in the photo-piezocatalytic (VL-Pi) process to activate PDS (ZA/PDS/VL-Pi) for the degradation of IMI. The degradation ratio of ZA/PDS/VL-Pi process for IMI reaches 90.6% with a reaction rate constant of 0.021 min−1, which is 205 and 29 times higher than that of ZA and ZA/PDS processes, respectively. This significant enhancement can be attributed to the stimulation of high current by VL-Pi effect that generated electrons (e-) and holes (h+) on ZA for PDS activation, resulting in efficient separation of e-/h+ pairs, and the production of more reactive oxygen species (1O 2 and •OH). Furthermore, by combining DFT calculation with experimental tests, degradation pathways of IMI and toxicity of the intermediates are elucidated, demonstrating the substantial detoxification of IMI. Moreover, the ZA/PDS/VL-Pi process functions well over a wide pH range from 3.0 to 9.0 and in various natural water matrices. This work is dedicated to opening up a new field for the application of photo-piezoelectric catalysis by utilization of green energy in environmental remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]