<p>This work aimed to remove one of the most persistent weed killers, atrazine, from groundwater using the photoelectrochemical Fenton technique with newly prepared electrodes. Photoanodes were prepared by immobilizing thin film semiconductor nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, and a composite of titanium dioxide-zinc oxide on 304L stainless steel substrates via electrophoretic deposition. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence were employed to characterize the photoanodes. The efficiency of the prepared electrodes as photoanodes was measured for atrazine removal at an initial concentration of 10 ppm from a solution simulating the atrazine concentration in groundwater in southern Iraq. The prepared electrodes were used as anodes in a batch photoelectro-Fenton reactor, and porous graphite air diffusion served as the cathode to enhance the surface area for H₂O₂ generation. The performance of the prepared photoanodes was evaluated by degrading atrazine and monitoring the chemical oxygen demand under three conditions: dark, fluorescent, and UV irradiation. The composite photoanode exhibited superior performance due to the formation of a heterojunction between TiO₂ and ZnO. Doping a thin film of semiconductor nanoparticles reduced the bandgap of the composite photoanode from 3.70 to 2.74 eV. The results demonstrated that electrodeposition is an effective method for producing photoelectrodes with promising properties, high stability, and long-term durability for industrial wastewater treatment applications. Moreover, the experimental results show a higher efficiency of removal under UV light compared to dark and fluorescent light.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>