PHOTOCATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF CHLORPYRIFOS AND ATRAZINE PESTICIDES BY USING TIO2 AND ZNO NANOPARTICLES

Titanium Oxide (TiO2) and Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles are investigated in this study as potential remediation agents in the photocatalytic breakdown of pesticides. The synthesis and characterization of the nanoparticles, which confirms their proper crystalline phases and sizes, serve as the study's starting point. For chlorpyrifos and atrazine, the effectiveness of photocatalytic degradation was assessed. After 180 minutes, TiO2 showed superior degradation, with 84% efficiency for chlorpyrifos and 92% for atrazine, compared to ZnO's 62% and 73%. TiO2 had higher rate constants (0.022 and 0.032 min⁻¹) than ZnO (0.015 and 0.021 min⁻¹) for both pesticides, according to kinetic modeling. These findings highlight TiO2's potential as a powerful photocatalyst for pesticide remediation, allowing for a greater understanding of the kinetics of degradation and mechanisms for long-term environmental solutions.