C-N Bond Research Articles

Study of Huperzine A derivatives with extended protection against soman intoxication

Pre-administration of huperzine A (Hup A) was validated to prevent poisoning from exposure to nerve agents (NAs) by reversibly inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE). However, like the currently commonly used reversible inhibitors, Hup A has a short half-life and is unable to produce a long-term preventative effect. To extend the protective time of Hup A against NAs, 42 derivatives with a CN bond were designed based on the structure of Hup A in this study. All designed derivatives showed good binding capability with AChE via molecular docking. Six compounds (H3, H4, H11, H14, H16, and H25) with representative structures were selected for synthesis by Schiff base reaction, and their structures were stable. The modified Ellman's method showed the six compounds concentration-dependently inhibited AChE, and the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) were higher than that of Hup A. Pretreatment of AChE with the derivatives significantly increased the IC50 of soman. In vivo experiments demonstrated H3, H4, H14, H16, and H25 had longer protective capacities against 1 × LD95 soman-induced death in mice than Hup A. The 12 h protective index showed that the protective ratios of H3, H4, H14 and H16 were 2.31, 1.85, 2.23 and 1.99 respectively, better than that of Hup A. The extended protection of the derivatives against soman may be explained by their transformation to Hup A in vivo. Furthermore, all six compounds showed lower acute oral toxicity than Hup A. Overall, our study provided an optional strategy to acquire pretreatment agents for NAs with extended action and low toxicity.

Extraction and Characterization of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Seed Oil

This study focuses on employing solvent extraction to extract and characterize watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) seed oil. The physicochemical properties of the oil were investigated to assess its potential applications in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. The extraction process yielded an oil content of 43%. The oil exhibited a pH value of 4.02, refractive index of 1.452 at 25 °C, and specific gravity of 0.934 at 15 °C. The boiling point, cloud point, flash point, and melting point of oil were determined as 326 °C, 7.3 °C, 289 °C, and 2 °C, respectively. The oil's viscosity was measured as 0.04072 Pa.s, and it demonstrated a non-sooty flame nature and solubility in ether. The free fatty acid contents and acid value were determined at 3.339 % and 6.678 mg KOH/g, respectively. The saponification value (S.V) and iodine value (I.V.) were 147.6315 mg/KOH/g and 88.526 mg Iodine/g, respectively. Additionally, peroxide value was 16.40 meq peroxide/g, and the oil exhibited a congealing temperature range of -14 °C to 22 °C. The oil's retention factor during chromatography was determined as 1.6 cm. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed the presence of functional groups such as hydroxyl, amine, aliphatic hydrocarbon, carbonyl, carbon-nitrogen bond, and sulfoxide groups in the oil. These findings suggest that the presence of functional groups, such as hydroxyl, amine, aliphatic hydrocarbon, carbonyl, carbon-nitrogen bond, and sulfoxide groups in watermelon oil, indicate its potential suitability for a wide range of applications in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of methylene blue using heterojunction Ag@TiO2 nanocomposite: Mechanistic and optimization study

The objective in this study is to investigate the adsorption-degradation of the methylene blue (MB) dye using a fabricated heterojunction Ag@TiO2 nanocomposite. The batch factors used in photo catalytic reactions were pH, UV-irradiation time, temperature, catalytic dosage, and concentration of MB. The results showed that 0.2 × 103 g·ml−1) of the catalytic dose caused the Ag@TiO2 adsorption to degrade by 96.67% with darks and UV exposure. Using the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model to determine the kinetic, the Ag@TiO2 displays a greater kinetic rate than TiO2 and silver nanoparticle (AgNPs). The photocatalytic degradation of MB, which is an endothermic reaction involving all catalysts, is shown by the thermodynamic parameter to have the positive value of enthalpy (ΔH°). The enthalpies observed were Ag@TiO2 (126.80 kJ·mol−1) < AgNPs (354.47 kJ·mol−1) < TiO2 (430.04 kJ·mol−1). Ascorbic acid (OH scavenger), 2-propanol (O2 scavenger), and ammonium oxalate (AO) (hole h+ scavenger) were employed to conduct the scavenger effects. The Ag@TiO2 demonstrated a reduction in MB degradation when combined with 2-propanol, and this clearly demonstrated that, in contrast to hydroxyl radicals (OH) and hole (h+) scavengers, superoxide radical anion (O2 scavenger) plays a significant role in MB degradation. Utilizing density functional theory (DFT) to elucidate the mechanism and B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level optimization, the degradation-adsorption process was explained. When the NN, CN or CC bonds were severed, the Fukui faction was demonstrated for nucleophilic, electrophilic, and radical attack.

The microscopic structure deformation and vibration spectra resolving of β-HMX under high temperature:A theoretical study based on AIMD simulation

The phase transition mechanism is always the challenge in energetic material fields, but it is crucial for understanding the microscopic ignition and detonation reaction performance. Here, we investigate the phase transition process of β-HMX under high temperature, using ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. The microscopic structure deformation and corresponding spectral characteristic is systematically studied. The corresponding relationship between microscopic structure and spectral signal is established through the partial spectra calculation. The results show that the equatorial CN bonds and axial NN bonds of HMX molecule have the most obvious shrinkage. It is the fundamental origination for the deformation of molecular ring and N-NO2 group, which would further induce the initial phase transition. The axial N-NO2 group plays the major role both in the β → α and β → δ phase transitions, while the deformation of equatorial NO2 group also closely affects the β → δ phase transition.

Insight into pyrolysis mechanism of plastic waste with C-O/C-N bonds in the backbone

Pyrolysis is an important method for efficiently recovering plastic monomers, fuels and chemicals from plastic waste. The depolymerization of the backbone structure of plastic waste is a key step of the pyrolysis process. Currently, researches on the pyrolysis mechanism of plastics with C-O/C-N bonds in the backbone are still not sufficiently in-depth and also lack systematic and comprehensive investigation. Therefore, this study for the first time comprehensively investigated both macroscopic and microscopic pyrolysis processes of plastics with C-O/C-N bonds in the backbone, and evaluated the difficulty of breaking different backbone linkages via bond dissociation energy (BDE) obtained by density functional theory (DFT) calculations to deeply reveal the pyrolysis mechanism. The results indicated that polyethylene terephthalate (PET) had a higher initial pyrolysis temperature and its thermal stability was slightly stronger than nylon 6. The backbone of PET was mainly decomposed via the cleavage of Cα-O on the alkyl side, while the degradation of nylon 6 backbone began with NH2 groups at the end of the backbone. The pyrolysis products of PET were mainly derived from the small molecular fragments, which were generated by the degradation of the backbone through the cleavage of CO bonds or CC bonds, while the pyrolysis products of nylon 6 were always dominated by caprolactam. In addition, based on the results of DFT calculations, it could be inferred that the cleavage of CC bond in PET backbone and the cleavage of its adjacent Cα-O were most likely to occur, which followed a competitive reaction mechanism. However, in pyrolysis of nylon 6, the conversion to caprolactam was mainly via the concerted reaction of amide CN bonds. Compared with the concerted cleavage of amide CN bond, the cleavage of CC bond in the backbone of nylon 6 was not predominant.

Bioisosteric ferrocenyl 1,3-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid derivatives: In vitro antiproliferative and antimicrobial evaluations

To improve the antiproliferative effect of ALC67 (diastereomeric mixture of ethyl 2-phenyl-3-propioloyl-1,3-thiazolidine-4-carboxylate), its structure was modified via (i) bioisosteric substitution of the phenyl ring by the ferrocene unit and (ii) replacing the propiolamide side-chain in ACL67 with other acyl groups having differing electrophilicities. In this way, a small library of methyl N-acyl-2-ferrocenyl-1,3-thiazolidine-4-carboxylates (13 compounds in total) was created and characterized by spectral and crystallographic means. The last N-acylation step was highly diastereoselective toward the cis-diastereomer. In solution, most of the obtained compounds existed as a mixture of two rotamers and displayed a preference for the syn-orientation around the CN bond. A twisted 5T4 envelope conformation was adopted by the derivative containing the N-phenoxyacetyl group in the crystalline state. Two derivatives with chloroacetyl and bromoacetyl groups in the N-3 side chain were cytotoxic to fibroblasts and hepatocellular cancer cells in the low micromolar range (IC50(MRC5) = 9.0 and 11.8 μM, respectively, and IC50(HepG2) = 10.6 and 18.4 μM, respectively) causing an effect similar to the lead compound (IC50(HepG2) = 10.0 μM) and cisplatin (IC50(MRC5) = 4.0 μM and IC50(HepG2) = 7.7 μM). Several derivatives also manifested modest antimicrobial effects against the studied microbial strains (MICs in the range from 0.44 to 4.0 μmol/mL). Our findings demonstrated that the introduction of a ferrocene core facilitated the preparation of optically pure analogs of ALC67 and that the cytotoxicity of compounds may be enhanced by adding proper electrophilic centers to the N-acyl side-chain.

Dynamics, cation conformation and rotamers in guanidinium ionic liquids with ether groups

Ionic liquids are modern materials with a broad range of applications, including electrochemical devices, the exploitation of sustainable resources and chemical processing. Expanding the chemical space to include novel ion classes allows for the elucidation of novel structure-property relationships and fine tuning for specific applications. We prepared a set of ionic liquids based on the sparsely investigated pentamethyl guanidinium cation with a 2-ethoxy-ethyl side chain in combination with a series of frequently used anions. The resulting properties are compared to a cation with a pentyl side chain lacking ether functionalization. We measured the thermal transitions and transport properties to estimate the performance and trends of this cation class. The samples with imide-type anions form liquids at ambient temperature, and show good transport properties, comparable to imidazolium or ammonium ionic liquids. Despite the dynamics being significantly accelerated, ether functionalization of the cation favors the formation of crystalline solids. Single crystal structure analysis, ab initio calculations and variable temperature nuclear magnetic resonance measurements (VT-NMR) revealed that cation conformations for the ether- and alkyl-chain-substituted are different in both the solid and liquid states. While ether containing cations adopt compact, curled structures, those with pentyl side chains are linear. The Eyring plot revealed that the curled conformation is accompanied by a higher activation energy for rotation around the carbon-nitrogen bonds, due to the coordination of the ether chain as observed by VT-NMR.

Dinitrogen Functionalization with Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Disulfide Giving Symmetric and Unsymmetric Hydrazido Complexes.

Here we show that a tridentate bis(aryloxide)anilide-ligated titanium/potassium scaffold promotes functionalization of coordinated N2 with CO2 and CS2 through formation of N-C bonds. Treatment of a naphthalene complex with N2 gave an end-on bridging dinitrogen complex featuring a [Ti2 K2 N2 ] core. The dinitrogen complex underwent insertion of CO2 into each Ti-NN bond to afford an N,N'-dicarboxylated hydrazido complex. Stepwise nitrogen-carbon bond formation at coordinated N2 proceeded to afford an unsymmetric hydrazido complex upon sequentially treating the dinitrogen complex with CS2 and CO2 . Addition of Me3 SiCl to the dicarboxylated hydrazido complex resulted in partial silylation of the carboxylate groups but did not lead to removal of the functionalized N2 unit from the metal centers. However, reduction of the dicarboxylated hydrazido complex with potassium naphthalenide afforded an oxo-bridged dinuclear complex along with release of free potassium cyanate.

Unveiling the treatment-driven secondary risks of pharmaceuticals: New lessons from calcium channel blocker transformation by multiple oxidants

The worldwide detection of numerous pharmaceuticals and their transformation products (TPs) in different environmental matrices has gained considerable concern about their potential ecological hazards. Increasing evidence suggested that calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are ubiquitous pharmaceutical pollutants in natural waters. However, their TPs, reaction pathways, and secondary risks have been limitedly known during oxidative water treatment. This study systematically assessed the TP formation and transformation mechanisms of two typical CCBs (i.e., amlodipine, AML; verapamil, VER) oxidized by ferrate(VI), permanganate, and ozone, as well as the in silico prediction on the TPs' properties. The high-resolution mass spectrometer analysis suggested a total of 16 TPs of AML and 8 TPs of VER identified for these reaction systems. Transformation of AML mainly proceeded through hydroxylation of the aromatic ring, ether bond cleavage, NH2 substitution by a hydroxyl group, and H-abstraction, while VER was oxidized via hydroxylation/opening of the aromatic ring and cleavage of the CN bond. Notably, certain TPs of both CCBs were estimated with low biodegradation, multi-endpoint toxicity, and high persistence and bioaccumulation, suggesting their severe risks to aquatic ecosystems. This study has implications for understanding the environmental behaviors, fate, and secondary risks of the globally prevalent and concerned CCBs under oxidative water treatment scenarios.

Nitrogen-doped carbon dots for doxorubicin-targeted delivery and two-photon cell imaging

Nitrogen (N) doped CDs (N-CDs) were prepared using citric acid and hexamethylenetetramine by a one-step hydrothermal method, characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Powder X-ray Diffractometer (PXRD), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (13C NMR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectra. The doping mechanism and drug-loading characteristics of N-CDs were also studied. The results showed that N-CDs had both down- and up-conversion fluorescence properties and the average particle size was about 4.28 nm. N-CDs could be used as a drug carrier for doxorubicin (DOX) (N-CDs-DOX) via the formation of the NC bond, and the drug-loading rate of N-CDs-DOX was 35.88%. The N-CDs-DOX had pH-targeted properties and low cytotoxicity. In vitro release of N-CDs-DOX belonged to the Weibull model and Fick diffusion. The results showed that N-CDs could deliver DOX successfully, and collocate with DOX in the SH-SY5Y cells through two-photon imaging. The N-CDs-DOX system had sustained-release and pH-targeted properties. N-CDs were expected to deliver a type of drugs containing CO group and be used in cancer treatment.

Antibacterial Effects of a Carbon Nitride (CN) Layer Formed on Non-Woven Polypropylene Fabrics Using the Modified DC-Pulsed Sputtering Method.

In the present study, the surface of non-woven polypropylene (NW-PP) fabric was modified to form CN layers using a modified DC-pulsed (frequency: 60 kHz, pulse shape: square) sputtering with a roll-to-roll system. After plasma modification, structural damage in the NW-PP fabric was not observed, and the C-C/C-H bonds on the surface of the NW-PP fabric converted into C-C/C-H, C-N(CN), and C=O bonds. The CN-formed NW-PP fabrics showed strong hydrophobicity for H2O (polar liquid) and full-wetting characteristics for CH2I2 (non-polar liquid). In addition, the CN-formed NW-PP exhibited an enhanced antibacterial characteristic compared to NW-PP fabric. The reduction rate of the CN-formed NW-PP fabric was 89.0% and 91.6% for Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538, Gram-positive) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC4352, Gram-negative), respectively. It was confirmed that the CN layer showed antibacterial characteristics against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The reason for the antibacterial effect of CN-formed NW-PP fabrics can be explained as the strong hydrophobicity due to the CH3 bond of the fabric, enhanced wetting property due to CN bonds, and antibacterial activity due to C=O bonds. Our study presents a one-step, damage-free, mass-productive, and eco-friendly method that can be applied to most weak substrates, allowing the mass production of antibacterial fabrics.

Spectral evidence of acetamiprid’s thermal degradation products and mechanism

Herein we unequivocally identify the mechanism of zeolite-catalysed thermal degradation of pesticide, employing Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman and mass spectrometry following temperature decomposition (TPDe/MS). We demonstrate that Y zeolite can effectively adsorb a significant amount of acetamiprid both in a single trial (168 mg/g) and in 10 cycles (1249 mg/g) with intermittent thermal regeneration at 300 °C. Sectional vibrational analysis of acetamiprid two-stage thermal degradation is performed for pristine and supported pesticide. The acetamiprid Raman spectral changes appear at 200 °C, while partial carbonization occurs at 250 °C. The gradual disappearance of the FTIR bands of acetamiprid is seen up to 270 °C when two Raman signature bands for carbonised material emerged. The TPDe/MS profiles reveal the evolution of mass fragments - in the first step, cleavage of the CC bond occurs between the aromatic core of the molecule and its tail-end, followed by cleavage of the CN bond. The mechanism of adsorbed acetamiprid degradation follows the same step, at significantly lower temperatures, as the process is catalysed by the interaction of acetamiprid nitrogens and zeolite support. Reduced temperature degradation allows for a quick recovery process that leaves 65% efficacy after 10 cycles. After numerous cycles of recovery, a subsequent one-time heat treatment at 700 °C completely restores initial efficacy. The efficient adsorption, novel details on degradation mechanism and ease of regeneration procedure place the Y zeolite at the forefront of future all-encompassing environmental solutions.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of coumarine-imidazo[1,2-c][1,2,3]triazoles: PEG-400 mediated one-pot reaction under ultrasonic irradiation

Synthetic chemists have organized easy and effective ways for perfect synthesis in response to the requirement for scaffolds that are crucial for medical applications. To investigate the synthesis of fused 1,2,3-triazoles in the presence and absence of ultrasound, the [3 + 2] cycloaddition followed by CN bond formation reaction between 3-(iodoethynyl)-2H-chromen-2-one and substituted 2-chloro-N-phenylacetamides was carried out under relatively optimized conditions. The cancer activity of the synthesized compounds were then tested in vitro against two MCF-7 and A-549 and the majority of the examined compounds 4e-4o showed significant activity, with compounds 4f, 4 g, and 4 h surpassing the standard drug against the A-549 line, and 4 m and 4n excelling it against MCF-7. Later, in vitro EGFR results revealed that compounds 4f (IC50 = 0.420 ± 0.08 μM), 4 g (IC50 = 0.367 ± 0.02 μM), and 4 h (IC50 = 0.453 ± 0.02 μM) were more effective than the conventional medicine Erlotinib (IC50 = 0.460±0.06 μM). In silico investigations of more potent compounds (4f, 4 g, 4 h, 4i, 4k, 4 m, and 4n) and erlotinib on the EGFR protein indicated that all seven compounds had much higher binding energies and inhibition constants than the erlotinib. Finally, the in silico pharmacokinetic profile of compounds 4f, 4 g, 4 h, 4i, 4k, 4 m, and 4n was estimated using SWISS/ADME and pkCSM, where all compounds followed Lipinski, Veber, Egan, and Muegge rules without deviation.

Radical Decyanations of Unactivated Carbon‐CN Bonds: Recent Achievements and Mechanistic Studies

AbstractDecyanation is an important process in the synthesis of aromatic molecules in the studies of pharmaceutical research, medical and materials sciences. In late‐stage modifications of privileged carbo/heterocyclic scaffolds, radical‐type decyanation techniques have been devised to date. As a result, the chemistry of cyano‐involved conversions, a hotly debated subject over the past few decades, has advanced significantly. The cyano group (CN), on the other hand, has rarely been acknowledged as a good reaction site due to its thermodynamic robustness. The most recent advancements in catalytic radical decyanation protocols that CN behaved as a leaving group has made are surveyed in this article. Following the introduction of a number of different reaction modes, the catalytic reactions that are used to activate the C−CN bonds are primarily categorized, and the text herein are divided into three groups: (1) photo‐catalyzed decyanation transformations, (2) electro‐catalyzed decyanation transformations, and (3) transition‐metal‐catalyzed or metal‐free decyanation transformations. With an emphasis on the catalytic systems and synthetic applications in C−CN bond activation, this review will provide the readers with an overview of decyanation chemistry in radical reactions.

Radical Decarboxylative Carbon-Nitrogen Bond Formation.

The carbon-nitrogen bond is one of the most prevalent chemical bonds in natural and artificial molecules, as many naturally existing organic molecules, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and functional materials contain at least one nitrogen atom. Radical decarboxylative carbon-nitrogen bond formation from readily available carboxylic acids and their derivatives has emerged as an attractive and valuable tool in modern synthetic chemistry. The promising achievements in this research topic have been demonstrated via utilizing this strategy in the synthesis of complex natural products. In this review, we will cover carbon-nitrogen bond formation via radical decarboxylation of carboxylic acids, Barton esters, MPDOC esters, N-hydroxyphthalimide esters (NHP esters), oxime esters, aryliodine(III) dicarboxylates, and others, respectively. This review aims to bring readers a comprehensive survey of the development in this rapidly expanding field. We hope that this review will emphasize the knowledge, highlight the proposed mechanisms, and further disclose the fascinating features in modern synthetic applications.

Rh(III)-catalyzed highly regioselective construction of spiro-isoindoline frameworks through ortho-C-H activation

Rhodium(III)-catalyzed ortho-C-H functionalization/spirocyclization of 2-arylquinazolinones with 1,4-quinones has been developed for the synthesis of highly rigid spiroisoindolines in good to excellent yields through CC and CN bond formations in a single-step. These scaffolds resemble to biologically active tryptanthrin frameworks.

The crosslink between the hyaluronic acid and drugs treated by reactive oxygen species produced in plasma based on the molecular dynamics simulation

Hyaluronic Acid (HA)-based pre-drugs can enable targeted drug delivery to cancer cells with CD44-high expressing, thus, it is essential to design an efficient, target specific drug delivery system based on HA. Plasma, as a simple and clean tool, has been widely used in the modification and crosslinking of biological materials in recent years. In this paper, we used the Reactive Molecular Dynamic (RMD) to explore the reaction between reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plasma and HA with drugs (PTX, SN-38, and DOX), in order to examine possible drug-coupled systems. The simulation results indicated the acetylamino groups in HA could be oxidized to unsaturated acyl groups, which offers the possibility of crosslinking. Three drugs also exposed the unsaturated atoms under the impact of ROS, which can cross-link directly to HA through CO and CN bonds, forming a drug coupling system with better release. This study revealed the exposure of active sites on HA and drugs by ROS impact in plasma, allowing us to study the crosslinking mechanism between HA and drugs at molecular level deeply, and also provided a new light for establishment of HA-based targeted drug delivery system.

Synthesis of 2,5-difunctionalized pyridines via sequential chemoselective amination and Suzuki–Miyaura reactions

Pyridine derivatives are important building blocks in pharmaceutical and materials chemistry. Synthesis of 2-amino-5-(het)arylpyridine derivatives was explored via sequential chemoselective palladium-catalyzed amination and Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction. 5-Bromo-2-tosyloxypyridine as a starting material, a new carbon–nitrogen bond was successfully formed chemoselectively on bromide over OTs group, followed by Suzuki–Miyaura couplings with various boronic acids to provide the desired 2-amino-5-(het)arylpyridines in moderate to excellent yields. Using this protocol, a valuable class of pyridine derivatives to be biologically active can be synthesized.

Improving the stability and color purity of a BT.2020 blue multiresonance emitter by alleviating hydrogen repulsion.

Stable deep blue multiresonance emitters with small full width at half maximum (FWHM) are attractive for wide color-gamut organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). However, the steric repulsion from the spatially close hydrogens would twist the multiresonance skeletons, causing spectral broadening and molecular instability issues. Here, we strategically introduce a mesitylboron locking unit into a carbazole-embedded multiresonance model emitter, alleviating the hydrogen repulsions and also strengthening the para-positioned weak carbon-nitrogen bond in anionic states. An emission peaking at 452 nm with an FWHM of merely 14 nm and nearly BT.2020 blue chromaticity coordinates are obtained in toluene, affording a high maximum external quantum efficiency of 33.9% in a sensitizing device. Moreover, an impressive LT97 (time to decay to 97% of the initial luminance) of 178 hours at a constant current density of 12 mA/cm2 was achieved in a stable device with a small y coordinate of 0.057, nearly 20 times longer than the model emitter with even a substantially red-shifted emission.

Decomplexation of Ni-EDTA by thermally activated persulfate: Efficiency and mechanism

The thermally activated persulfate (TAP) advanced oxidation process is a promising technology for treating complex heavy–metal wastewater because of its environmental friendliness and high efficiency. However, previous studies have not fully explored the potential mechanisms involved in removing complex heavy metals. Herein, we investigated the effects of temperature, initial pH, peroxydisulfate (PDS) dosage, and the initial concentration of Ni-EDTA on the removal of Ni-EDTA using TAP. Results showed that increasing the activation temperature and PDS dosage enhanced the removal rate of Ni-EDTA, whereas decreasing the pH and initial concentration of Ni-EDTA were more conducive to Ni-EDTA removal. In addition, the quenching experiment indicated that OH and SO4− were the main active species, with OH being the most important contributor in the Ni-EDTA removal process. The degradation mechanism of Ni-EDTA was also explored through ultra performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS) analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. These showed that the TAP-based degradation of Ni-EDTA is a step-by-step decarboxylation process due to increased bond lengths of CN or NCCN bonds of Ni-EDTA, resulting in the destabilization of Ni-EDTA. Overall, this study provides unique insights into the degradation of complex heavy metals in industrial wastewater using TAP.