Photocatalytic degradation of pesticide imidacloprid using adherent TiO₂ catalysts

TiO₂ catalysts adhered to the glass were used for investigating photocatalytic degradation of pesticide imidacloprid in aqueous solution under 3×8W fluorescent lamps. The results showed that the photocatalytic degradation rate of imidacloprid was high and up to above 50%. And the photolysis fit a first-order kinetic relationship well. The photolysis rate constant of imidacloprid decreased with increasing initial concentration, which was explained by two mechanisms of photocatalytic degradation. By contrast, adherent TiO₂ films with adding Car- boxymethyl Cellulose-Na to treat was not easy to take off and the catalytic activity would not drop. In addition, the feasibility the imidacloprid photocatalytic degradation under the sunlight was also studied.