Enantioselective degradation and chiral stability of the herbicide fluazifop-butyl in soil and water

•The stereoselective degradation and transformation of fluazifop-butyl in soil and water were studied.•The chiral stability of fluazifop-butyl enantiomers was investigated.•The formation, degradation and enantioselectivity of the primary metabolite fluazifop were studied.•Enantioselective degradations were found in Beijing and Anhui soil.•There was no significant enantioselectivity of the degradation of fluazifop-butyl in water.

The stereoselective degradation and transformation of the enantiomers of the herbicide fluazifop-butyl in soil and water were studied to investigate the environmental behavior and chiral stability of the optical pure product. Its main chiral metabolite fluazifop was also monitored. LC/MS/MS with Chiralpak IC chiral column was used to separate the enantiomers of fluazifop-butyl and fluazifop. Validated enantioselective residue analysis methods were established with recoveries ranging from 77.1 to 115.4% and RSDs from 0.85 to 8.9% for the enantiomers. It was found the dissipation of fluazifop-butyl was rapid in the three studied soils (Beijing, Harbin and Anhui soil), and the degradation half-lives of the enantiomers ranged from 0.136 to 2.7 d. Enantioselective degradations were found in two soils. In Beijing soil, R-fluazifop-butyl was preferentially degraded leading to relative enrichment of S-enantiomer, but in Anhui soil, S-fluazifop-butyl dissipated faster. There was no conversion of the R-fluazifop-butyl into S-fluazifop-butyl or vice versa in the soils. The formation of fluazifop in the soils was rapidly accompanied with the fast degradation of fluazifop-butyl, and the enantioselectivity and the transformation of S-fluazifop to R-fluazifop were found. The degradation of fluazifop-butyl in water was also quick, with half-lives of the enantiomers ranging from 0.34 to 2.52 d, and there was no significant enantioselectivity of the degradation of fluazifop-butyl and the formation of fluazifop. The effects of pH on the degradation showed fluazifop-butyl enantiomers degraded faster in alkaline conditions. This study showed an evidence of enantioselective behavior and enantiomerization of the chiral herbicide fluazifop-butyl.