Photosensitized degradation of organic pollutants in water: processes and analytical applications

Photosensitized degradation has been used to remove a broad range of organic pollutants, generally with mineralization to CO₂ and other inorganic products such as Cl^? and . TiO₂ and Fe³⁺ are the photosensitizers mainly used to accelerate the degradation of persistent organic chemicals. Various analytical techniques were used to identify the degradation products and to monitor the degradation kinetics. Chromatographic techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC) and ion-exchange were used. Other analytical techniques, such as total organic carbon analysis, UV–visible spectrophotometry, spectrofluorimetry, and potentiometry, were also used. When the photodegradation is carried out in water, extraction methods such liquid–liquid extraction or solid-phase extraction need to be used, followed by GC or HPLC analysis. We review the analytical methods used for the identification of the products formed in photodegradation studies. Kinetic studies of the degradation are also reported.