ZrP/NiSe ₂ Nanocomposite with Enhanced Activity for Adsorptive Removal and Photocatalytic Degradation of Imidacloprid Pesticide

ABSTRACT Imidacloprid, a widely used neonicotinoid insecticide, exhibits high environmental persistence and toxicity, necessitating effective strategies for its removal from aqueous systems. In the present investigation, the ZrP/NiSe 2 nanocomposite was synthesized for the first time. Comprehensive characterization was performed using FT‐IR, XRD, EDX mapping, BET, UV–visible DRS, and FESEM, confirming the successful formation of the nanocomposite. The resulting ZrP/NiSe 2 nanocomposite exhibited significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity in the visible light region for the degradation of imidacloprid from aqueous media compared to pure ZrP and NiSe 2 nanoparticles. Under identical experimental conditions, the ZrP/NiSe 2 nanocomposite achieved a removal efficiency of 70.67% for imidacloprid within 105 min, surpassing the efficiencies of individual ZrP (51.52%) and NiSe 2 (47.50%). This enhanced performance may be attributed to the nanoscale integration of ZrP and NiSe 2 , which facilitates a synergistic improvement in their photocatalytic activities. Furthermore, both ZrP/NiSe 2 and ZrP are capable of extracting substantial proportions of imidacloprid from aqueous solutions via adsorption mechanisms. This phenomenon can be explained by the significant adsorption tendency of ZrP toward organic contaminants with protonable functional groups. Notably, the nanocomposite retains good performance over three recycling cycles, providing environmental and economic advantages for sustainable reaction development.