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Review
. 2022 Apr 24;27(9):2743.
doi: 10.3390/molecules27092743.

Applications of Heterogeneous Photocatalysis to the Degradation of Oxytetracycline in Water: A Review

Renato Pelosato  1 , Isabella Bolognino  1 , Francesca Fontana  1 , Isabella Natali Sora  1
Affiliations
Review

Applications of Heterogeneous Photocatalysis to the Degradation of Oxytetracycline in Water: A Review

Renato Pelosato et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Photocatalytic processes are being studied extensively as potential advanced wastewater treatments for the removal of pharmaceuticals, pesticides and other recalcitrant micropollutants from the effluents of conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Oxytetracycline (OTC) is a widespread antibiotic which is frequently detected in surface water bodies as a recalcitrant and persistent micropollutant. This review provides an update on advances in heterogeneous photocatalysis for the degradation of OTC in water under UV light, sunlight and visible-light irradiation. Photocatalysts based on pure semiconducting oxides are rarely used, due to the problem of rapid recombination of electron-hole pairs. To overcome this issue, a good strategy could be the coupling of two different semiconducting compounds with different conduction and valence bands. Several methods are described to enhance the performances of catalysts, such as doping of the oxide with metal and/or non-metal elements, surface functionalization, composites and nano-heterojunction. Furthermore, a discussion on non-oxidic photocatalysts is briefly provided, focusing on the application of graphene-based nanocomposites for the effective treatment of OTC.

Keywords: advanced oxidation processes; oxytetracycline; photocatalytic wastewater treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Publications trend: Web of Science results for the number of yearly publications on photocatalytic water treatment of antibiotics from 2010 to 2021.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The structure formula of OTC.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Ionization of OTC at various pH [39]. Reprinted with permission from: Kulshrestha, P.; Giese, R.F.; Aga, D.S. Investigating the Molecular Interactions of Oxytetracycline in Clay and Organic Matter: Insights on Factors Affecting Its Mobility in Soil. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2004, 38, 4097–4105. https://doi.org/10.1021/es034856q. Copyright 2004 American Chemical Society.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Structures of the main hydrolysis products of OTC, 4-epioxytetracycline (1), α-apooxytetracycline (2) and β-apooxytetracycline (3).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Schematic representation of the formation of excited electron−hole pair.
Figure 6
Figure 6
(A) Spectral irradiance. (B) Cumulative photon flux per photon energy (eV) and wavelength (λ). (Elaboration of data from https://www.nrel.gov/grid/solar-resource/spectra.html; source accessed on 4 April 2022).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Different allotropes of carbon: graphite (3D); graphene (2D); nanotubes(1D); and fullerene (0D) Reprinted from reference [147].
Figure 8
Figure 8
Structures of triazine-based and heptazine-based g-C3N4. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [164] Copyright 2019, Elsevier.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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