Hydroxyl radical as an unlikely key intermediate in the photodegradation of emerging pollutants.

In this work, a kinetic model, in combination with time-resolved experiments, is applied to assess the involvement of ·OH in the photodegradation of emerging pollutants (EPs) by means of advanced oxidation processes. In contrast with the general assumption, quenching of the short-lived ·OH in the real waters by the (highly diluted) EPs must be very inefficient, so removal of EPs cannot purely rely on the generation and reaction of ·OH. This suggests that more complex pathways have to be considered to explain the photodegradation of EPs actually achieved under the employed oxidative conditions, possibly involving other reactive species with longer lifetimes or chain degradation processes.