A study of the photocatalytic degradation of methomyl by UV light

The photocatalytic degradation of insecticide methomyl in water, using TiO2 and ZnO (Merck), under UV (366 nm) was studied. The influence of the catalyst concentration and pH was investigated. The optimal concentration of the catalyst was found to be 2.0 g/l. It was found that ZnO is a better catalyst than TiO2 under the same reaction conditions. Also, the influence of NaCl was studied. The presence of Cl significantly affects the photodegradation of the pollutant.