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Advanced Oxidation of Emerging Pollutants in Water

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 224

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China
Interests: water pollution control; photocatalytic oxidation; chemical degradation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, water pollution caused by emerging pollutants, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and endocrine disruptors, has become an increasing concern. The advanced oxidation of emerging pollutants in water refers to the use of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to degrade or remove these pollutants from aquatic environments. AOPs, including photocatalytic oxidation, photoelectrocatalytic processes, ultrasonic irradiation, peroxymonosulfate activation, and combinations with other technologies, have shown promise in their capacity for degradation.

AOPs are destructive and generate low or no waste, making them potential candidates for solving the problem of water pollution by emerging pollutants. However, further research is needed to optimize these processes and fully understand their underlying mechanisms.

In addition, the efficiency of these processes is influenced by various parameters, including the nature of the pollutant, pH value, matrix constituents, and the process parameters. Therefore, further research is needed to advance the application of AOPs in order to achieve a higher pollutant removal efficiency and more affordable prices. Further research could impact the following areas of interest: the development of novel catalysts and reactants, the optimization of reaction conditions, the combination of technologies, and the environmental and health impacts of AOPs.

Dr. Rongfang Yuan
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • advanced oxidation
  • photocatalytic oxidation
  • photoelectrocatalytic processes
  • ultrasonic irradiation
  • peroxymonosulfate activation
  • emerging pollutants
  • water treatment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

27 pages, 1746 KiB  
Review
The Influence Mechanism of Dissolved Organic Matter on the Photocatalytic Oxidation of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
by Jie Wang, Minyi Zhu, Anli Sun, Rongfang Yuan, Huilun Chen and Beihai Zhou
Molecules 2025, 30(11), 2266; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30112266 - 22 May 2025
Viewed by 136
Abstract
With the worsening global water pollution crisis, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been increasingly detected in aquatic environments. The effective removal of PPCPs remains challenging for conventional water treatment technologies, whereas photocatalytic technology has shown distinct promise. Dissolved organic matter (DOM), [...] Read more.
With the worsening global water pollution crisis, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been increasingly detected in aquatic environments. The effective removal of PPCPs remains challenging for conventional water treatment technologies, whereas photocatalytic technology has shown distinct promise. Dissolved organic matter (DOM), a ubiquitous component of aquatic ecosystems, exerts multifaceted effects on the photocatalytic oxidation of PPCPs. In this article, the influence of DOM on the performance of various photocatalysts in PPCP removal is systematically summarized and analyzed. This review highlights DOM’s role in altering the migration and transformation of PPCPs via processes including adsorption and complexation. The adsorption of PPCPs on photocatalysts is achieved by competitive adsorption or by providing more adsorption sites. DOM modifies the structural properties of photocatalysts through mechanisms such as ligand exchange, intermolecular forces, electrostatic forces, and hydrophobic interactions. DOM inhibits the formation of active species via light attenuation and shielding effects while simultaneously enhancing their generation through photosensitization and electron transfer facilitation. In this review, the interaction mechanism among DOM, PPCPs, and photocatalysts within the PPCP photocatalytic oxidation system is expounded on. These findings provide novel insights into optimizing photocatalytic reaction conditions and enhancing treatment efficiency, while providing a theoretical foundation for advancing efficient, eco-friendly PPCPs remediation technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Oxidation of Emerging Pollutants in Water)
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