Titanium-dioxide-mediated photocatalysis reaction of three selected pesticide derivatives

The photocatalysis reaction of three selected pesticide derivatives, namely methoxychlor (1), chlorothalonil (2) and disulfoton (3), has been investigated in an acetonitrile/water mixture in the presence of titanium dioxide and oxygen. The change as a function of irradiation time has been monitored using the UV spectroscopic analysis technique. An attempt has been made to identify the product formed during the photooxidation process through GC/MS analysis technique. The photolysis of methoxychlor (1) led to the formation of methoxychlor olefin (4) and 4,4′-dimethoxybenzophenone (9), whereas chlorothalonil (2) gave rise to 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol (17) as the only product. On the other hand, the photolysis of disulfoton (3) under analogous conditions gave disulfoton sulfoxide (25) and phosphorodithioic acid (21). All the products have been identified by comparing the molecular ion and mass fragmentation peaks of the products with those reported in the library. A probable mechanism for the formation of the products has been proposed.