Dechlorination-Hydroxylation of Atrazine to Hydroxyatrazine with Thiosulfate: A Detoxification Strategy in Seconds

Hydroxylation of atrazine to nontoxic hydroxyatrazine is generally considered an efficient detoxification method to remediate atrazine-contaminated soil and water. However, previous studies suggested that hydroxylation was not the dominant pathway for atrazine degradation in the hydroxyl radical-generating systems such as Fenton reaction, ozonation and UV/H 2 O 2 . Herein we report that the addition of sodium thiosulfate can realize rapid hydroxylation of atrazine to hydroxyatrazine at pH ≤ 4 under room temperature. High resolution mass spectra and isotope experiments results revealed that the hydroxylation of atrazine was involved with nucleophilic substitution and subsequent hydrolysis reaction as follows. HS 2 O 3 –, as a species of thiosulfate only at pH ≤ 4, first attacked C atom connecting to chlorine of atrazine to dechlorinate atrazine and produce C 8 H 14 N 5 S 2 O 3 – . Subsequently, the S–S bond of C 8 H 14 N 5 S 2 O 3 – was cleaved easily to form SO 3 and C 8 H 14 N 5 S – . Next, C 8 H 14 N 5 S – was hydrolyzed to generate hydroxyatrazine and H 2 S. Finally, the comproportionation of SO 3 and H 2 S in situ produced S 0 during hydroxylation of atrazine with thiosulfate. This study clarifies the importance of degradation pathway on the removal of pollutants, and also provides a nonoxidative strategy for atrazine detoxification in seconds.