Determination of phthalate esters in airborne particulates by heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalyzed aromatic hydroxylation fluorimetry

[Display omitted] •Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) were determined by aromatic hydroxylation fluorimetry.•PAEs can react with OH in VMT-BiFeO3/H2O2 to form fluorescent hydroxyl phthalates.•Fluorescence intensity is proportional to PAEs concentration.•A good linear relationship was obtained in range of 3.8×10−7 to 4.8×10−5molL−1.•PAEs in airborne particulates were determined with satisfactory results. The environmental contaminants phthalic acid esters (PAEs) were determined by aromatic hydroxylation fluorimetry combined with heterogeneous photo-Fenton process in the presence of vermiculite supported BiFeO3 (VMT-BiFeO3). In strong alkaline solution, PAEs were hydrolyzed into phthalates with no fluorescence, which then reacted with hydroxyl free radicals produced in photo-Fenton process catalyzed by VMT-BiFeO3 to form the fluorescent hydroxyl phthalates. The fluorescence intensity was proportional to the concentration of PAEs with the maximum excitation and emission wavelength of 300nm and 417nm, respectively. A good linear relationship can be obtained in the range of 3.8×10−7 to 4.8×10−5molL−1 for DEP with correlation coefficient of 0.9997, and the sensitivity of the method was high with detection limit of 5.43×10−8molL−1. The method has been successfully applied to determine total PAEs in airborne particulates with satisfactory results.