The results obtained show that tribenuron methyl in aqueous solutions preserved in the dark undergo degradation
that accounts for about 12% with respect to that observed for photoirradiation simulating sun light, which is likely due to both phenomena. Even if the kinetics are much slower for hydrolysis, HPLC-DADMS/MS analyses indicate that the products formed are the same. The same products also form for irradiation in the presence of paddy waters with kinetics that are faster than that of pure hydrolysis and slower with respect to photoirradiation in ultrapure water. The three degradation products identified in this photodegradation study correspond to some of the products evidenced by other authors who also propose other fragments [6, 8, 11, 23, 25, 37]. This stronger fragmentation found in literature could be due to the different pretreatment of the solutions that underwent photoirradiation before the injection in the chromatographic system as well as to the gas chromatographic conditions used or to the use of organic solvents [23–25].