Photocatalytic degradation of nitrobenzene has been studied using a semiconductor as photocatalyst and an artificial UV source. The effect of catalyst loading, pH and anions on the photocatalytic degradation of nitrobenzene has been investigated. A kinetic model for the photocatalytic process was investigated. Two types of commercial catalysts Degussa P-25 and Aldrich-TiO2 (anatase TiO2 having surface area 250 m(2) g(-1)) have been compared. Also the degradation has been studied using two different lamps of different A comparison of photocatalytic degradation of nitrobenzene with phenol showed that nitrobenzene degrades more rapidly than phenol. Further, photochemical degradation of nitrobenzene using hydrogen peroxide and artificial UV lamp has been studied and found to be inferior to the photocatalytic degradation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.