Influence of pH and Divalent Metals Relevant to California Rice Fields on the Hydroxide-Mediated Hydrolysis of the Insecticide Chlorantraniliprole

The hydrolysis of chlorantraniliprole (3-bromo-N-[4-chloro-2-methyl-6-(methylcarbamoyl)phenyl]-1-(3-chloro-2-pyridine-2-yl)-1H-pyrazole-5-carboxamide; CAP) was investigated over the pH range of 6–10, reflective of California rice field conditions, with variable additions of Cu2+, Zn2+, Mn2+, or Ni2+. Dissipation accelerated as pH increased with half-lives ranging from 26.9 to 2.2 days with slight inhibition in rice field water. The addition of divalent metals was not observed to catalyze the hydrolysis of CAP at pH 6, indicating that the insecticide is likely to remain recalcitrant to hydrolysis in neutral or acidic surface waters. However, Mn2+ and Ni2+ were observed to inhibit hydrolysis at pH 8 and 9. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared analysis supports the conclusion that divalent metals may withdraw electron density from the amide nitrogen via interaction with the amide oxygen, though additional quantum chemical modeling is necessary to provide further mechanistic insights. Overa...