Photodegradation of tebuconazole mediated by a novel hybrid phenalenone based photosensitizer

•Phenalenone was grafted onto silanized sand by click-chemistry with a concentration of 3.9 μmol per gram.•Phenalenone grafted on sand achieved comparable tebuconazole degradation kinetic under visible and UV irradiation.•The kinetic constant of tebuconazole photodegradation under visible irradiation was k = 1.3 × 10-3 min-1.•Photodegradation mainly occurs through type II mechanism as the main ROS appears to be singlet oxygen.