Chapter 2: Photo-activated Persulfate-based Advanced Oxidation for Water Treatment

With the rapid development of industry, increasing aqueous organic contaminants have entered the water ecosystem, posing threats to humans and aquatic animals worldwide. To protect the water environment, homogeneous and heterogeneous photo-activated persulfate (PS) activation technologies are being intensively investigated for water treatment. Herein, the fundamentals, applications, mechanisms, challenges, and improved strategies of UV-based and photocatalyst-based photo-activated PS-advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are summarized and discussed. Specifically, various photocatalyst-based photo-activated PS-AOPs are divided into Fe-based, TiO₂-based, other metal-based, bimetallic, and carbonaceous PS activation systems, the highlights and mechanisms of which are also provided. Accordingly, the objective of this paper is to summarize the achievements, challenges, and prospects in photo-activated PS-AOPs, and to motivate the construction of novel and promising PS-AOPs for water treatment.