Altered toxicity of organic pollutants in water originated from simultaneous exposure to UV photolysis and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots

► We study the interactions between CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) and organics under UV irradiation. ► We investigate toxicity of phenol and toluene in the presence of QDs. ► We observe the changes in degradation pattern of organics in the presence of QDs and UV irradiation. ► We observe the leak of constituent core (cadmium) and shell (zinc) metal ions. ► The experimental results were interpreted by calculating the Spearman rank coefficients.