Photocatalytic degradation of monocrotophos pesticide--an endocrine disruptor by magnesium doped titania.

Mg-doped TiO(2) with different Mg concentrations were prepared using sol-gel method and characterized by XRD, UV-visible, XPS, SEM and FT-IR. The XRD results revealed that Mg(2+) goes into the TiO(2) lattice. SEM images of the doped and pure TiO(2) indicated that there is a smaller particle size for the doped catalyst compared to that of the pure TiO(2). UV-visible absorption spectra indicated that upon doping with Mg(2+) ion, the catalyst exhibits absorption in visible region. FT-IR and XPS spectra demonstrated that the presence of Mg(2+) ion in the TiO(2) lattice as substitutional dopant. Photocatalytic activity of doped TiO(2) has been evaluated by degradation of the monocrotophos (MCP) pesticide. The effect of solution pH, catalyst dosage and initial concentration of MCP on the photocatalytic activity of Mg-doped TiO(2) with different loadings was studied. It was observed that the rate of degradation of MCP over Mg-doped TiO(2) is better than Pure TiO(2) and Degussa P-25.