Highly robust AgIO3/MIL-53 (Fe) nanohybrid composites for degradation of organophosphorus pesticides in single and binary systems: Application of artificial neural networks modellingm

A robust sunlight-driven AgIO₃/MIL-53 (Fe) nanohybrid composite (NC) was successfully synthesised and characterised. The efficacy of the NC was estimated by decomposing two organophosphates pesticides (methyl malathion (MP) and chlorpyrifos (CP)) under sunlight irradiation. The degradation of MP and CP was strongly influenced by pH, catalyst dose and initial pesticide concentration. Under 60 min solar light illumination, ∼78–90% CP and MP were degraded individually in tap and distilled water, respectively. In binary mixture (MP + CP), ∼70% mineralisation was achieved within 180 min. The efficiency of NC is attributed to the prolonged separation of photogenerated carriers, a large concentration of surface hydroxyl groups and high specific surface area. Under artificial neural network (ANN) predicted conditions, 0.5 g NC, pH 5 and 2.5 mL of 50 mg/L Na₂S₂O₈ are required for complete mineralisation of the pesticides