Heteropolyacid Photocatalytical Degradation of Atrazine in Aqueous Solution under UV-Irradiation

The photodegradation of atrazine induced by UV-irradiation in aqueous solution was investigated initially. The affecting factors on the photodetradation were studied and described in details such as atrazine initial concentration, temperature, pH value, exposure intensity, oxidant and co-existing substances. It was found that the atrazine initial concentration had no obvious effect on the photodegradation. With the pH value increasing, photodegradation rates decreased. However, we also observed a positive correlation between the degradation rate of atrazine and temperature, exposure intensity and oxidant while the coexisting organic compounds may decelerate photodegradation of the atrazine in water. In this paper, the degradation products had also been confirmed by using LC-MS.