Atrazine Degradation by the Nano-Shielded Carbon Dots–Lacassa (CDs-S-M-Lac) System

Atrazine is one of the most toxic herbicide pollutants for ecosystems and the environment, as its persistence poses a risk to environmental health. Therefore, this research focuses on the production of a series of shielded nanostructured compounds known as carbon dots. To this end, three different shielded nanomaterials will be synthesized, namely carbon dots (CDs-S), magnetized carbon dots (CDs-S-M), and laccase-catalyzed magnetized carbon dots (CDs-S-M-Lac), the latter being the biocomposite. During the characterization of these materials, stretching vibrations corresponding to the hydroxyl group were obtained in the 3100–3600 cm−1 region, as well as 1750 cm−1 bands associated with oxygenated carbonyl and carboxylate groups, which are important in the adsorption processes of contaminants on the material’s surface. Biocatalytic activity tests were also performed on a total volume of 3.0 mL, contained in an atrazine solution with an initial concentration of 10 mg·L−1. Raman analysis revealed bands in the D (1350 cm−1) and G (1580 cm−1) regions, characteristic of SP2 hybridizations associated with carbonaceous materials, thus describing a material capable of degrading contaminants with a capacity of approximately 14 mg/L; this degradation is achieved with CDs-S-M-Lac.