Non-photochemical catalytic hydrolysis of methyl parathion using core–shell Ag@TiO(2) nanoparticles

Highly water-dispersible core–shell Ag@TiO(2) nanoparticles were prepared and shown to be catalytically active for the rapid degradation of the organothiophosphate pesticide methyl parathion (MeP). Formation of the hydrolysis product, p-nitrophenolate was monitored at pH 7.5 and 8.0, using UV-Vis spectroscopy. (31)P NMR spectroscopy confirmed that hydrolysis is the predominant pathway for substrate breakdown under non-photocatalytic conditions. We have demonstrated that the unique combination of TiO(2) with silver nanoparticles is required for catalytic hydrolysis with good recyclability. This work represents the first example of MeP degradation using TiO(2) doped with AgNPs under mild and ambient conditions. Analysis of catalytic data and a proposed dark mechanism for MeP hydrolysis using core–shell Ag@TiO(2) nanoparticles are described.