Degradation of Atrazine Herbicide: Comparison of the Photocatalytic Activity between Ag(nanoparticles) deposited on TiO2(nanofibers) and Ag(doped)-TiO2(nanofibres)

The photocatalytic activity of Ag-TiO2 nanofibers for destruction of environmental pollutants under irradiation conditions was considered. Both doped- and deposited silver-TiO2 nanofibres were prepared by electrospinning method and their potential for the photocatalytic degradation of Aatrazine herbicide, an environmental resistant pollutant, under ultraviolet light irradiation were compared. The crystalline structure and morphology of the synthesized nanofibers were characterized with XRD and SEM, respectively. While, none of the two synthesized compounds exhibited a degradation effect on the herbicide in the dark, they showed a high performance in the degradation of Atrazine herbicide under ultraviolet radiation conditions. Our results show that under UV light condition, Ag deposited-TiO2 nanofibers exhibit more photocatalytic activity than Ag doped-TiO2 nanofibers.