Efficient Degradation of Fenitrothion Pesticide and Reaction Mechanism with GO-Fe3O4/TiO2 Mesoporous Photocatalyst under Visible Light Irradiation

Fenitrothion is one of the common pesticides used in pistachio orchards. Although strict rules have been laid down for the use of sustainable organic pollutants, they are still detected in natural water.

In this work, highly ordered mesoporous titanium dioxide (TiO2 mesoporous) with large pore size and high surface area, iron (II, III) oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4) and graphene oxide (GO) was successfully fabricated and GO-Fe3O4/TiO2 (GFT) mesoporous nanocomposite proposed as a heterogeneous photocatalyst. The physicochemical and morphology, properties of GO-Fe3O4/TiO2 mesoporous were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and specific surface area by the BET method.

The GO-Fe3O4/TiO2 mesoporous showed a good photocatalytic activity for the degradation of fenitrothion, achieving almost complete removal of 6 ppm fenitrothion after 60 min contact with 0.06 g/L of the nanocatalyst in nutral pH. The degradation of fenitrothion was found to follow the pseudo-first order according to kinetic analysis.

GO-Fe3O4/TiO2 mesoporous is a recyclable catalyst that effectively degrade fenitrothion pesticide in aqueous media.