Reactive Oxygen Species and Catalytic Active Sites in Heterogeneous Catalytic Ozonation for Water Purification

Heterogeneous catalytic ozonation (HCO) processes have been widely studied for water purification. The reaction mechanisms of these processes are very complicated because of the simultaneous involvement of gas, solid, and liquid phases. Although typical reaction mechanisms have been established for HCO, some of them are only appropriate for specific systems. The divergence and deficiency in mechanisms hinders the development of novel active catalysts. This critical review compares the various existing mechanisms and categorizes the catalytic oxidation of HCO into radical-based oxidation and nonradical oxidation processes with an in-depth discussion. The catalytic active sites and adsorption behaviors of O₃ molecules on the catalyst surface are regarded as the key clues for further elucidating the O₃ activation processes, evolution of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or organic oxidation pathways. Moreover, the detection methods of the ROS produced in both types of oxidations and their roles in the destruction of organics are reviewed with discussion of some specific problems among them, including the scavengers selection, experiment results analysis as well as some questionable conclusions. Finally, alternative strategies for the systematic investigation of the HCO mechanism and the prospects for future studies are envisaged.