Photocatalytic degradation of organophosphorous pesticides in aqueous solution using TiO2-NiO nanocomposite

Abstract: Pesticides are substances used as a poison for certain group of living organisms. On the other hand, presence of pesticides in aquatic environments causes serious problems to human health and other organisms. Photocatalytic degradation has been proved to be a promising method for the treatment of water. In the present work, the magnetic nanostructure of TiO2-NiO was synthesized by sol–gel method and after characterization were used as photocatalyst for degradation of organophosphorous pesticides under Vis light irradiation. The effect of various parameters, i.e., photocatalyst concentration, pesticide concentration and pH of the solution on the percentage of degradation of selected pesticides had been examined. The degradation percent of organophosphorous pesticides was carried out using UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The results indicate that TiO2-NiO found to be an excellent photocatalyst for the degradation of organophosphorous pesticides under Vis light irradiation.