Photocatalytic degradation of phosphamidon on semiconductor oxides.

The photocatalytic degradation of a small concentration of an organo-phosphorous (OP) insecticide phosphamidon, in water, on ZnO and TiO(2) is investigated. Of the two semiconductor oxides, TiO(2) is found to be more effective as a photocatalyst for this reaction. Several factors such as concentration of phosphamidon, pH of the system, catalyst loading and presence of anions are found to influence the degradation rate.