Photochemical and photocatalytical degradation of antibiotics in water promoted by solar irradiation

Abstract

Sunlight is able to induce processes utilizable for the degradation of organic pollutants in water. In this chapter, the use of solar irradiation for the treatment of antibiotics by photolysis, classical heterogeneous photocatalysis, and photocatalysis based on nanomaterials is presented. Initially, the general aspects of antibiotics and their environmental impacts are considered. Then, the direct and mediated actions of sunlight on antibiotics are analyzed, focusing the discussion on aspects such as kinetics, transformations, and matrix effects. Next, some illustrative cases of application of TiO2-photocatalysis to eliminate antibiotics are addressed. The final section is devoted to photocatalysis based on nanomaterials for degrading antibiotics, paying special attention to their preparation, types of nanomaterials, and its application to the treatment of antibiotics in waters. The advantages and limitations of the applicability of photocatalytical systems for antibiotics elimination from water are also considered.